Souls and Soldier Squirrels
by Crazy Girl Person
Summary: (Chapter 12 is up) Pain, rage, and revenge. This is a story about one young grey squirrel and his fight to save his country.
1. It hurts to leave

I ran out of funny and I can't think of any Jet Grind Radio fics at the moment, so I thought I'd write a little something about the brave squirrels of "Colors" and "Total War"

I ran out of funny and I can't think of any Jet Grind Radio fics at the moment, so I thought I'd write a little something about the brave little gray squirrels of "Colors" and "Total War". Why not, after all, I'm obsessed with the War games.

Souls and Soldier Squirrels

Axel stood before the mirror, dressed in his combat attire. Tomorrow morning he was to be shipped off to the military camp to begin his training. This was his last day at home and he missed it already. He was a young squirrel, only 19, but he was more than ready to give his life to protect his country, and his mother.

Axel couldn't stand to see his mother now. She was upset as it was. Her son, he only son, her only child to be precise, was going to fight in a war against the Tediz. Many soldiers had already died and the last assault would be their final chance at victory, but Axel didn't let that scare him. He was doing what he had to do, but he hated the thought of leaving his poor mother all alone.

When Axel was very little, his good-for-nothing father abandon him and his mother. Not that he minded too much. His father was an abusive alcoholic bastard and when he left it was both the best and worst day of his life. His mother was heart broken when it happened for some reason. Even though he would get drunk off his arse almost every night and then beat Axel and his mother until they were begging for mercy, she still loved him and hoped that he would change his ways. That hope disappeared the day he left.

"I am a better man than he ever will be." Axel whispered as he continued to examine his reflection. "I won't let you down, mom." He took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob. He knew very well that his mother was in the other room, probably crying her eyes out. He needed to be there for her, but he couldn't stay there forever. That just killed him. What he feared more than his own death was his mother's reaction when she received that flag in the mail. He couldn't stand the thought of it. Still, he had to be there for her. This could very well be the last time they saw each other and he wasn't about to let that chance go for granted.

He slowly allowed his paw to turn the doorknob. The door creaked slightly as he pushed it open. His mother was sitting on the couch, not even facing him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She held a handkerchief to her nose and sniffled silently. The very sight of her nearly brought tears to Axel's eyes, but he fought to keep them back. He took a step forward and, as his combat boots made marks in the carpet, approached his mother. She looked up at him when she felt his paw against her back. "Mother," The words barely made it out of his mouth as he only moved his lips slightly. She sniffled slightly, then lunged forward into her son's embrace. Her salty tears stained his uniform as he rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm sorry, I have to do this." He whispered into her ear. "I know, I know." She replied, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "I just can't stand the thought of losing you."

"I don't want to promise anything," Axel began as his mother's sobs began to subside. "I don't want to break any promises I make, so I can't promise you I'll return, however, I will promise you one thing. I'll fight as hard as I can, and I'll go down fighting if I have to." His tail drooped to the floor as he finished that last sentence. _Go down fighting, I probably shouldn't have said that._ Still, his words comforted his mother slightly as she hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go, but knowing she had to. She slowly removed her face from his chest and held on to his shoulders. "You've grown up so much," she said as she looked him over. "I'm so proud of you." Axel smiled and gently removed her hands from his shoulders. "I'm going to miss you."

His mother brought her paw to his face and stroked it gently. "Please be careful, my baby." He placed his hand on top of hers and pressed it gently. "I will, mother, I will."

To be continued…..

Okay, that was sort of lame, but it's only the beginning! It'll get better, trust me. I'm not very good at these heart-warming parts, but it's not too bad if I do say so myself. Please review and no flames!


	2. Painful Memories

This part is longer

This part is longer! I hope you all enjoyed the first part, even though it sort of sucked. And as for having the squirrel's name be Axel, it was the only name I could think of at the moment. Thanx for reading!

Axel drummed his fingers on the suitcase as he looked out the window. The sun was just starting to rise and he wanted to leave before his mother woke up. He just couldn't stand to see her crying the way she was the day before. He did feel rather guilty about just leaving like that, but if he didn't leave that way, he may not have found the nerve to leave at all.

The bus hit a few rather large bumps in the road, jarring him out of his thoughts now and then. He usually just brushed it off and continued looking out the window, after taking a quick look at his fellow recruits that is. He wondered what their stories were, if their mothers cried as much as his had, but he tried not to think about it too much. All that was left to think of now was his training. Tears ran from his eyes as he yawned. _Guess I'm a lot more tired than I thought. _He rubbed his eyes and tried to shake the sleepiness out of his head. He wasn't used to getting up so early, but he was going to have to adjust. Still, it couldn't hurt to get in a few hours of sleep before they reached the camp.

He placed his suitcase on the floor under his feet and leaned up against the wall. He gripped the window with his paw and leaned his head against it, almost like a pillow. He closed his eyes and sighed. He could already feel sleep overwhelming his brain. The bus began to run a bit smoother, allowing him to immediately doze off.

The evil Tediz had been terrorizing the squirrel society in anyway that they could. They would even stoop as low as raiding towns, murdering and raping young squirrels in the streets. That was no surprise, as the Tediz were pure evil. They had even fire bombed Axel's hometown once. He remembered that day very clearly. He was just outside the city limits when it happened. While driving back, he heard the sirens fill the air as the Tediz planes swarmed the sky. Canisters rained down on the city, then exploded into a sea of fire that engulfed half the town. It took fire fighters ten hours to put the flames out. Axel and his mother lived on the other side of town, as did many of his friends, so they were safe, however….

"Sarah!" Axel nearly jumped out of his car and ran into his girlfriend's house, which was still blazing. That didn't matter at all to him though. He could practically hear Sarah screaming in agony as the flames engulfed her alive. Spectators were yelling at him as he kicked the door down, but he didn't care. Sarah was in there, maybe she was still alive. He held his shirt over his nose while he called out her name in a muffled voice. The flames were practically cooking him alive as he ventured deeper into the house. He checked in room after room only to be encountered by a wall of flames, until he finally made it to her room. He nearly busted the door off of its hinges when he kicked it and gaped at what he saw. Sarah, his girlfriend, was lying nearly unconscious surrounded by a small ring of flames. He leapt into the inferno and nearly singed his tail as he picked her up and carried her out the door.

Just as he got outside, a fire crew had arrived and rushed past him to check for anymore survivors in the house. Axel fell to his knees and cradled Sarah in his arms. She was badly burned. Her left arm had almost all of the skin burned off and was bleeding uncontrollably. The skin on her legs was melted and pussing while blood poured from her other burns. She was in pure agony and struggling just to breathe. Fresh tears ran down Axel's face as he held his dying love in his arms. "Sarah, I'm sorry." He managed to whisper as his tears splashed on her face. She opened her scorched eyes and struggled to get air into her lungs. "A….Axel…" Her breath suddenly caught in her throat as her eyes rolled back into her skull and her entire body went limp. "Sarah!?" Axel knew very well what had happened, but his mind refused to listen to logic. He tried shaking her, no response. "Sarah," He patted her lightly on the cheek, no response. "Sarah," He tried kissing her gently on the forehead, no response. Tears overflowed in his eyes as he clung to her body tightly. Finally, he arched his back and screamed at the sky for all he was worth. "SARAH!!!!"

"Axel, wake up!" 

Axel struggled out of the dream and found himself back on the bus. He felt a paw gripping his shoulder and turned to his left. There, sitting beside him, was his best friend Riley. He, too, had signed up for the military when Axel signed up the very next day after the bombing. That was a little over a week ago, and Axel had vowed to kill those Tediz bastards for what they had done. "Ya all right, man?" Riley asked as he patted his friend's shoulder. Axel rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look so good,"

"I said I'm fine!"

Riley removed his hand from Axel's shoulder and folded his arms. He gave him a quick smirk and a sympathetic look. "You had that dream again, didn't you?" Axel didn't respond and began staring out of the window, trying to escape the memories that haunted him. Almost every night after Sarah's death he had nightmares. It hurt him so much when she died and his mind was refusing to let go. It was as if suffering was his only way of remembering. He knew that wasn't true, but his mind still played that trick on him. His mind enjoyed watching his heart suffer. "Don't worry about it, man, we'll get there soon." Riley said, patting his bud on the back. "I'm not really looking forward to getting to camp too much." Axel replied, still looking out the window. Riley chuckled a bit, causing him to take his gaze off of the scenery for a second. "What's so funny?"

"I forgot, you were asleep. The bus driver said we'll be stopping by a café for a quick meal before we actually get to camp. I think he heard your stomach growling."

Axel pulled back his fist and punched Riley right in the gut. "Very funny, fuck head." He said as he cracked his knuckles. Riley clutched his chest a bit as the punch knocked a bit of wind out of him. "Damn, I was just kidding!" Axel sighed and crossed his arms. "I know, I'm just nervous. I've got too much to think about right now, most of which I don't want to think about period." Riley nodded his head in understanding. "I know what you mean. Breakfast is on me, how 'bout that?" Axel looked up at his friend with a small smile on his face. "Really?"

"Sure man, why not? I've got extra cash to burn anyway."

"Thanks Riley. I'm starving,"

"What? Your mum forget to pack you your macaroni and cheese?"

Once again, Riley felt pain hit his chest when Axel elbowed him in the ribs. "Your rather violent today, aren't you?" Riley replied as he massaged his bones. Axel crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and leaned back in the seat. "The warrior inside burns, Riley." Riley shook his head and sighed. "You're a weird one, my friend, you're a weird one."

Axel stretched out his arms as his stepped off the bus. The bus ride seemed a lot longer than it should have and it's hard to sit still when you find yourself with the need to punch your friend here and there. "One of these days, I'm gonna use your face to practice my left jab!" Riley yelled while rubbing his right shoulder. Axel looked over his shoulder and grinned sinisterly. "You wouldn't dare! Not after what happened to Chuck McArthur back in 9th grade."

"I never liked that guy anyway. I'm glad you kicked the flying shit out of him." 

"It was rather rewarding, even though I got suspended for a week."

"All right guys," the bus driver broke in and made sure he had everyone's undivided attention. "We have a half hour before we need to get going, so eat fast and get back on the bus. We'll be leaving with or without you so don't get left behind." With a nod to confirm they understood, the recruits piled into the diner and took random seats. Riley and Axel took two empty seats at the bar and the latter immediately turned his attention to the small TV in the corner. "Uh, two specials please," Riley said before the waitress could even ask. He then turned to his friend after placing his order. "Just when you thought it was safe to watch CNN." He motioned his paw to the screen. More and more reports on the Tediz activities filled the screen as the bad news of the squirrels getting pushed back followed each broadcast. Axel sighed. "I don't suppose it could get any worse, but it probably will." Riley shook his head and playfully punched his bud in the arm. "If you think like that it will. There's got to be someway to win, we just have to find it." Axel was no longer looking at the TV, his gaze was fixed on the bar and he weakly shook his head. "I hope you're right, but whatever the outcome, I'm going to give those Tediz hell like they've never seen before."

"That's the spirit!" Riley declared as he slapped him on the back. Axel looked up and smirked, then gave him a good sock on the arm. Soon afterward, the waitress returned with their meals, which they immediately dug into. "You got eggs on your uniform, Riley," Axel pointed at his shirt with his fork. "I don't think they're going to like that."

"Not any less than they'll like you talking with your mouth full." Riley replied as he brushed the bit of scrambled eggs off on to the floor.

"Touché."

A sudden blare from the TV made the two squirrels jump and everyone's attention was quickly directed towards the television. "We have just received word that at 7:27am this morning, the town of Sharmon had just been attacked by a Tediz air raid. Over 25,000 are reported dead and 12,000 are injured. Victims range from children to the elderly as rescue workers desperately….."

Every squirrel recruit stared shocked and angry at the report. Those Tediz bastards had done it again, but this time they had gone too far. One can only take so much abuse before being pushed over the edge. Axel was especially enraged by the broadcast. It was the Tediz air raids that had taken Sarah from him, and he would be damned before he let anyone else suffer like she had. His paws shook violently as he clenched them tightly. His grip on the fork became so great that it looked as though he'd break it. "I…am going….to kill those bastards!" he whispered harshly. "Get in line, buddy." Riley said as he examined the expressions of the other recruits. "There is gonna be hell to pay, I promise you that."

To be continued……

Yes, I liked that part better myself. What did you peoples think? Please review! 


	3. Arrival

A/N: I don't know very much about the military so I may get a few things wrong here

A/N: I don't know very much about the military so I may get a few things wrong here. Sorry.

The rest of the bus ride to camp was relatively silent. Aside from a whisper here and there, every squirrel recruit was silent and deadpan as far as expressions went. Axel had been staring at the back of the seat in front of him for twenty straight minutes while Riley basically kept his gaze forward, except for a quick glance around now and then. That report on the news had really gotten to all of them. Perhaps they were finally realizing what they were getting into, but there was no turning back now. But after that report, no one wanted to turn back. It was time to strike back.

The sudden stop of the bus brought everyone out of their trance. The bus door hissed as it opened and everyone stood up in unison with their belongings in hand. Axel felt the mud slush underneath his combat boots as he stepped off the bus. Looking around, he saw several other busses dropping off new recruits. These guys didn't seem phased like he and the others were; perhaps they hadn't heard the news yet. "All right! Attention all new recruits!" barked a large brown squirrel in rather formal looking military attire. "Form a orderly line over there to receive your bunk assignments. Assemble quickly, boys, we don't have all day." Axel and Riley exchanged a glance before heading over to the line formation. Once every new recruit had taken his place in line, the brown squirrel instructor walked down the line and handed a yellow slip of paper to each squirrel. 

Axel always felt like he was the center of attention now and then, and that was usually at times when he'd prefer to remain anonymous. What triggered this particular moment was when the instructor stopped right in front of him and painfully paused before handing Axel his bunk assignment. He felt a slight warmth in his face as he took his paper and tried to make himself less noticeable. Riley took his bunk assignment and leaned over to his friend. "Your tail's dragging," he whispered which got an immediate response from Axel. Taking a quick glance around, he noticed that everyone had their tails proudly in the air, while his just rested on the ground. He had so much on his mind that he didn't even notice until now. Sighing a bit, he lifted his tail off the ground and wagged it slightly to get the dirt off. 

By this time, the instructor was a ways down the line and hadn't notice Axel corrected his posture, not that it mattered to either of them at the moment however. "What'd you get?" Riley whispered. Axel carefully unfolded the slip of paper in his paws. "Bunk 24, what about you?"

"27, hey we won't be too far apart. That's good."

"I guess,"

"What's the matter? They're not going to punish you for your tail if that's what you're wondering. At least I don't think they would."

"It's not that. I don't know what's wrong with me. Guess I'm just nervous."

"I think we're all a little nervous here, bud."

"All right, listen up! Report to your bunks immediately and then report back here at 08:00 hours!* Move out!"

*I don't know military time either, so just pretend with me please.

The line seemed to break apart as each recruit separated to find his bunk. Axel and Riley evaded the over crowded directory sign and walked in the general direction to bunks 20-30. There was an uneasy silence between them as they walked. Riley would've killed for something to break the silence and Axel could sense that he was waiting for him to say something, anything that would launch them into a discussion, but neither one of them knew what to say at the moment. "Found my bunk," Riley mumbled as he feebly pointed in its general direction. "See you in a bit." Axel nodded as Riley walked away. He turned slightly and didn't have to look hard before his own bunk came into view.

Upon opening the door, Axel found just what he had expected. Wood floor with two windows on each side, four wooden beds total with green blankets and one cotton pillow on each, and each bed had a large wooden trunk resting at the foot. With each bed exactly the same, it didn't really matter to him which one he would be sleeping in. But it never hurt to have the first choice on location. With his suitcase in hand, he head to the far left corner of the bunk and opened the trunk. He had heard that in the military, your superiors would intentionally dump out your trunk just to get to you. It was all part of the training, but keeping everything in a neat and orderly fashion would usually reduce the risk of this happening. With that in mind, he began unpacking his things into the trunk carefully and making sure everything looked neat. 

As he did this, his mind began to wonder to various things about the war and about Sarah. He didn't like living in the past, but now and then a trip down memory lane was nearly impossible to avoid, especially in times like these. _Sarah, I'm sorry._ Once again his mind was playing a guilt trick on him. No matter how he looked at it and no matter what logic he used, there was always a small voice in the back of his mind, blaming him, telling him it was all his fault. This would always counter act all logic and reason and make him feel unsure of what really was logical. He gripped one of his spare shirts tightly as he tried to bring his train of thought back to the present, when the sudden slam of his trunk brought him back to reality completely.

"Hey, tail dragger!" Axel looked upward to see another squirrel recruit with his boot on the trunk and his right elbow on his knee. He had what one could call and "friendly smirk" on his face as he leered at Axel with a patronizing glare. Axel could feel the rage building up in his brain. He leered back at the squirrel just as powerfully as his teeth gritted into a sneer. That last thing he was about to do was take shit from another recruit. He had taken it from his father, his schoolmates, and others who just didn't like him for one reason or another and he wasn't about to take it now. Axel must of looked more angry and scary than he intended to, because the other squirrel immediately stepped back and put his paws in the air. "Hey, man, I didn't mean anything by it. That's just my way of beginning an introduction. Perhaps I should try again?" Axel still had his eyes narrowed in an evil leer at the other as he slowly nodded his head. "All right then." The other squirrel stood up straight and extended his paw. "My name is San. San Fursparks." The angry expression from Axel's face slowly dissolved away as he stood and took San's paw in his own. "Axel Robers, nice to meet you." San smirked a bit at that. "A few seconds ago I wouldn't have guessed, but I won't hold that against you."

That said, San crossed his arms and began getting a good look around the bunk while Axel returned to unpacking. "So, where you from?" San said as he turned on heel to scan the room. "Pincas Jerslin," Axel replied as he brushed a bit of lint off of his shirt. "What about you?"

"Sharmon. Real nice place,"

Axel dropped his clothes in alarm and stood up so fast he hit his head on the trunk top. "Did you say Sharmon!?" His voice was dripping with more alarm than he realized at the moment and his eyes were wide with shock. "What? What's wrong?" San demanded. Axel slowly lowered his paw that he was rubbing the lump on his head with and dropped his arms to his sides. "You…haven't heard yet?" San started getting very nervous at this point. This was wartime after all and for all he knew his hometown could have been completely blasted from the face of the earth. "What happened!" San nearly shouted at Axel as he clenched his fists. "This morning," Axel paused to wet his lips. His voice was small and unsure of whether to continue or not, but San stared at him with anticipation which urged him to continue. "Sharmon was attacked by a Tediz air raid." 

"How much damage was there?" San asked, his voice shaky and nervous.

"It was pretty bad. Just about everyone within the city limits was injured."

"The death toll?"

"Over 25,000."

San's expression and attitude had made a complete 180 from just a few minutes ago. His arms hung to his sides as he stared at his feet. His eyes reflected a sense of sorrow and disbelief. He knew he had to believe what he was hearing, but he couldn't stand the thought of it anymore. "My family's there," he mumbled without even looking up. Axel sighed and returned to packing. The silence was murder and he needed to occupy himself even if it did seem uncaring. "My hometown was attacked too," he said, never taking his eyes off of his chore. San slowly turned towards him, breathing heavily but quietly. "Did anyone you know die?" he asked in a quiet and almost childlike voice. Axel finished unpacking and slowly closed the lid on the trunk, his eyes closed the whole time. "My girlfriend was killed. That's why I signed up."

"I signed up because," San paused and swallowed a bit of air. "I was scared of what I would lose. I didn't want to stand by and watch my friends and family get picked off by the Tediz, so I decided to do something about it. Now it looks like the only life I saved was my own."

What followed was five minutes of solid silence which seemed like and eternity for those who were present. Axel tried to pull himself out of that mood and was starting to regret ever telling San about the air raid. Of course, he would've found out sooner or later and it was better he heard it then where there was minimal chaos around. That bit of piece did not last as the door was suddenly thrown open and two other recruits made their entrance. One had a brown circle around his right eye and the other had the tip of his tail missing. "So this is home sweet home for God knows how long," the one with the brown eye said. "Not exactly what I'd prefer but can't spit at what you get." The other squirrel with the missing tail tip simple nodded in reply and looked around the bunk with an expressionless face.

San and Axel shared a quick glance then looked back at the other two, who in turned looked back as well. "Sorry if we barged in on anything, mates." The one with the brown eye said as he tossed his suitcase on top of his chosen bed. He then headed over to San and extended his paw in a friendly handshake. "My name's Hunter." He shook San's paw firmly and then motioned towards the squirrel with the missing tail tip. "That one over there is Razor. He doesn't talk much so don't even try." Razor had his arms crossed, but managed to free his paw and wave a bit to the other two occupants while keeping his arms crossed. "Name's San," San replied, then motioned behind him. "That's Axel." Axel smiled lightly and waved back at Hunter who sighed in response. "This one's not much of a talker to, eh?"

"It's not that," Axel replied, standing up. "I just get lost in my thoughts now and then." 

"Right,"

Hunter turned back to his bunk and began unpacking. He had sensed there was an uneasy look between San and Axel and guessed that whatever they were talking about before he and Razor entered was pretty intense emotionally. For the next twenty minutes not a word was said between either of the recruits, until San happened to notice what time it was. "Shit," The other three immediately stopped whatever they were doing and looked up at him. "We have five minutes before we're supposed to report back. We better go." Axel shut the lid of his trunk with a bit more intensity than he intended, causing the other's to jump. The other's closed their trunks as well (though not as loudly as he had) and silently piled out the door.

"What took you? Didn't think you'd make it." Riley whispered to Axel when he and the others joined the line of new recruits. "I lost track of time." He whispered back as the Sergeant and two Instructors joined the recruits in the field. "Don't let your tail drag this time."

"Shut up."

A rather large grey squirrel stood in front of the line of recruits with the Instructors on either side of him. He was highly decorated, suggesting he was in a place of superiority. In this case, the Sergeant*.

* I don't know if that big squirrel guy from the game is really a Sergeant, but you guys get the picture and once again, I don't know very much about the military.

"Welcome to the army, boys." He began with his arms behind his back as he scanned the fresh shipment of squirrels for any error in their posture. With his hands still behind his back, he slowly began making his way up and down the line. "From here on in your lives are going to be run on a very strict schedule. It's not going to be easy and it's not going to be fun, but by the end of your training I will have made soldiers out of each and everyone of you. However, not everyone here is war material. If you are going to survive this, you are going to have to be strong and well disciplined, and if you can't survive what lies just ahead, there is no way you'll survive real combat. I strongly discourage anyone turning back at this point, but if you can't cut it, you're out. Is there anyone who doesn't understand that? Good. First things first. When speaking to your superiors the first and last word of your sentence will be 'sir'. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir yes sir!" The new recruits responded in unison.

"Good. Second, there will be no back talk when speaking to superiors. I don't want anyone causing trouble in my camp. Is that understood?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"All right. Follow the Instructors out to the field, boys. Your training starts now."

To be continued……

I am such a slacker! Sorry that took so long. Like I said at least two times before, I don't know much about the military, so if I got something wrong and it's really bothering you, just let me know and I'll fix it. 


	4. Day in Hell, Night in Heaven

A/N: From here on in in the series, there will be random journal entries from Axel's POV starting with this chatper

A/N: I have no idea what a day in the life of a soldier in training is like, well actually I _do_ have an idea, I just don't know what really goes on. So whatever I say is fact in my little world here. It's my story, after all.

Axel collapsed on his bed and kicked off his combat boots. He and the others had just met the most anal drill instructor that had ever existed. Ancon didn't waste time making sure every single new recruit hated his guts before the day was over. He sure did like going out of his way to be an asshole, but it was all part of the training, right? Either that or he had a petrified tree up his ass.

"I don't think I can survive living like this every single day," San said in a muffled voice. He was lying face down on his bed with his face buried in his pillow. Ancon had really pushed everyone to the limit. Axel slowly stood up and decided to change out of his uniform so he could actually get some sleep. Every muscle in his body ached from the 100 pushups to the 10 mile run. "I feel sorry for that little dorky guy with the glasses." Hunter said as he unbuttoned his shirt. "What was his name? Rodent or something."

"Yeah, it was Rodent." Axel said as he folded his uniform, clad only in his white boxers and wife-beater. "Sure he wasn't exactly in top condition, but he didn't have to trip him."

"This Ancon guy is nuts," San commented, then pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Have you guys ever seen Full Metal Jacket?"

"Yeah, that is a fuckin' good movie," Hunter said while Axel and Razor nodded in agreement.

"You know that part where the fat guy keeps getting picked on by the Drill Instructor and when everyone else starts getting punished for his screw-ups they tie him to the bed and beat him with soap, and then after graduation he goes crazy and shoots the Drill Instructor and then himself? That kind of reminds me of Ancon and Rodent. You don't suppose…"

"Not likely," Hunter replied. "Rodent seems like a mild-mannered kinda guy. I doubt he'd go on a killing spree."

"Speaking of killing spree, here comes Ancon."

"Shit!"

Everyone scrambled to get their belongings in decent order so as not to provoke the beast that is Ancon. He had put a huge emphasis on neatness that morning as it was a part of discipline and those who didn't abide got to see true discipline first hand. Ancon's sudden entrance, though predicted by the recruits, made all four of them snap to attention. The slender brown squirrel looked over the bunk with his hard and patronizing eyes. In his hands he held a riding crop which he slapped the palm of his hand with for that extra element of fear. "Lights out maggots. Tomorrow, the REAL work will begin, so don't let me catch any of you outside of this bunk until then. Understood?"

"Sir yes sir."

"Good night ladies."

Ancon turned heel and shut off the light as he made his exit. He slammed the door shut behind him and continued on to the next bunk. He was incharge of all troops bunking in 20-30. _Figures we had to get the old fart guy with the riding crop._ Axel thought to himself as he closed his trunk. _Could be worse I guess,_ "How could it get any worse than this guy?" Hunter whispered as if he had been reading Axel's mind. "I don't even want to know," San replied with his face in his pillow once again. Everyone mumbled in agreement and crawled into bed. It had been a rough day and they were all dead tired. At least they had those eight hours of peace to look forward to every night, right?

However, peace doesn't come to everyone when they sleep.

"Okay, WAKE UP DIPSHITS!" Ancon's loud voice was accompanied by the ear shattering sound of a nightstick on a trashcan, a sound that pierced into Axel's dream and woke him with a start. However, it wasn't the rude awakening that was making his heart thump wildly in his chest. He was actually thankful that the wake-up call came when it did as his mind was just about to slip into another nightmare. "I will be back for inspection in 30 minutes, if you are not fully dressed and straightened out this bunk by the time I return, there is going to be hell to pay! I want those beds made pronto!"

"Sir yes sir!"

Once again the door suffered a mighty blow as Ancon made his exit. His footsteps were heard leaving their bunk and heading off to the next, the trash can digging into the earth, and soon the sound grew too faint to even bother listening for. That is until he reached the next bunk where the racket of his wake-up call could clearly be heard by all that were awake.

"It's only five fuckin' thirty one in the morning!" San mumbled angrily. He threw his digital watch into his trunk and began digging for his uniform. Hunter yawned slightly as he began making his bed and Axel, who was already halfway dressed, began scraping the dry mud off of his combat boots. Razor moved silently and swiftly as he dressed and made his bed, moving of to perfecting his daily attire before any of the other three had even finished their first task at hand. "Damn Razor, how'd you do that so fast?" Hunter asked when he completed his bed making. Razor remained quiet as he made certain his uniform was presentable before cleaning up his boots. Hunter sighed. Ever since he first met Razor he was determined to get the silent squirrel to say something. He began wondering what his voice sounded like, as the only time he spoke was when he replied with the others. Of course, several guys were talking at once and it was difficult to make out his voice from the others. He shrugged his shoulders and sleepily returned to the task at hand. He could tell already that today was going to suck even worse than yesterday.

After Ancon's bunk inspection later that morning, some recruits were already experiencing muscle cramps before the training even began, making the group of Bunk 24 glad they had efficiently completed their tasks before Ancon returned, despite how tired they all were. Now, each recruit in Ancon's squad stood ready for whatever was to happen. They were all a bit impatient and just wanted to get their morning session over with. The sooner that happened, the sooner they could eat, and they were all pretty hungry. Still, 'tis better to train on an empty stomach than to get stomach cramps.

"All right maggots," Ancon yelled abruptly as he made his entrance, his hands behind his back and his steps strong and rhythmic. "Listen up! You see that?" Ancon pointed behind him to a varied obstacle course complete with ropes, tires, and monkey bars. "It should take you no more than five minutes to complete this course. You got me? Five minutes! If you don't complete this course in five fucking minutes, which should be more than enough time even for lazy asses such as yourselves, you don't eat. Got it?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Let's begin."

Ancon sent a random pair of two squirrels to take on the course and ordered the others to line up in two single file lines. After each pair completed, the first two in both lines were sent in. So far, everyone had completed in less than five minutes. That is until Axel noticed who was standing right in front of him. He quickly shot a concerned and sympathetic look to Riley, who was right next to him in the other line. "I feel sorry for that Rodent guy," Riley whispered to Axel. "I don't think he's going to make it." Axel nodded in agreement. Rodent was visibly getting more and more nervous as he approached the front of the line. Ancon was definitely going to give him a hard time, no doubt about that. Axel couldn't take it anymore. As the last squirrel in front of Rodent took off, he was almost shaking. It was only a matter of time before he made a fool of himself like yesterday. That's when he felt a friendly paw on his shoulder. "You can do it," Axel whispered to him. "just pretend you're being chased by something. Don't let Ancon take advantage of you again."

Rodent slowly looked over his shoulder. He had the strangest and most insecure look in his eyes, but Axel could tell his words of encouragement had had some effect on him. "You really think I can do it?" he asked in a quiet voice. Axel smiled and nodded. "Get ready, you're on next. Just remember what I said." Rodent quickly looked forward just in time to see the last squirrel complete the course. "Who's next?" Ancon said as he turned around. He grinned almost evilly when he saw who one of the next runners was. Rodent gulped silently as he and his running partner took position. Ancon set his watch, glancing at Rodent now and then. There was a grin on his face as if he couldn't wait to yell at him when he screwed up. "Go!"

Axel and Riley were slightly amazed by Rodent's sudden burst of speed. For a while, he was neck and neck with the other recruit. They reached the rope net and Rodent scurried up as fast as he could, which wasn't quiet fast enough to stay even with the other recruit. Add to that the fact that he nearly got his foot stuck, but he eventually made it. He ran to the wall and began climbing, but he nearly lost his footing a few times. "Come on, Private Rodent, keep it together!" Ancon yelled as he struggled to make it over the wall without falling. He made it down and ran over to the tires. He took in a deep breath as he started across. "Hey, he's actually doing pretty well." Riley whispered just a nano second before Rodent tripped, landing right on his face. Axel elbowed Riley hard. "Nice goin'! Ya jinxed him!"

Rodent got right back on his feet and tried to make his way through the tires, only to trip again. Axel sweatdropped and sighed. "Well, he had a good start. That's got to be worth something." Riley tried not to laugh as Rodent finally made it past the tires and struggled not to fall off the monkey bars. He felt sorry for the lil' guy, but his performance was somewhat amusing. "Think that's funny?" Axel whispered to him. A sinister grin then spread across his face. "You won't be laughing when I kick your ass at this thing." Riley leered back with his trade mark smirk. "You think so do you? Sorry to say, Shithead, but you couldn't beat me if I were quadriplegic."

"We'll just see about that,"

Rodent staggered across the finish line. His breath was short and quick as he was obviously not physically up for such things. Ancon stopped his watch just as Rodent collapsed on the ground. He raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "4,59. Unbelievable." He turned towards the other trainees. "All right, listen up! If that little lightweight disgrace over there can finish in less than five minutes, there shouldn't be any excuses for the rest of you! All right you two, you're next!"

Axel slightly leaned his weight forward. He mentally prepared himself to take off as soon as the signal was given, but before he knew it, he was already off and sprinting towards the first obstacle with Riley just a few inches behind. The signal was inaudible to him and most likely to Riley as well, but pure instinct told them when the signal had been given which allowed Axel, who had better reaction time, to pull out slightly ahead.

He hit the rope net dead on and began climbing it in a somewhat hastened fashion, then forced himself to use a distinct rhythm as he climbed which proved to be more effective. However, Riley had maintained this rhythm at the beginning of the climb, allowing him to pull ahead. When they had both cleared that mission, they ran towards a wooden, ladder-type wall. This time, Axel sustained a rhythm at the beginning, allowing him to stay close behind Riley. As they reached the top, Riley lost his footing a bit and Axel took this opportunity to pull ahead. He swung his foot over and allowed gravity to aid him in his descent. 

When his foot met with the soil, he turned on heal and dashed towards the tires. He could hear Riley's foot steps not to far behind him as he jumped to the first tire. He then jumped to the next one, making sure his foot wasn't caught before jumping to the next. However, Riley was older and slightly taller than Axel which allowed him to take the lead. With the tires behind them, Axel and Riley raced straight ahead to the monkey bars. One obstacle after another caused Axel and Riley to exchange places for the lead until the finish was in sight and the courses were long gone. Now all that was left was a straight sprint.

Axel put all of his power into his run. He pushed the ground with his feet and took off with every step. It was almost as if he was flying for an extremely short period of time as he dug his boots into the ground and pushed off. With the finishing point drawing nearer, Axel felt rather confident that he had beaten his friend, until a green and grey blur whizzed past him. Riley had waited until the last moment and launched himself into a mad sprint that allowed him to over take his rival easily. He skidded to a stop behind the checkpoint and turned just in time to see Axel join him. He groaned when he saw the patronizing look in Riley's eyes. _Oh god, here it comes. _"Well, that was certainly enjoyable. Now what was that about you kicking my ass again?" Riley said on his high horse. Axel sighed and decided to let it pass. Riley had won and therefore had the rightful bragging privileges, even though it did bug the hell out of him.

Every recruit there after had completed the coarse in the required five minutes or less, and therefore received their reward of sustenance. Of course, what was served wasn't exactly what one could call a reward. Axel picked at the odd, and very unappetizing, looking concoction on his tray. It was some sort of weird blob of scrambled eggs, salsa, cheese and ham. At least, that's what it looked like, and that's what he hoped it was. Everyone else who actually mustered up the courage to taste it didn't seem phased, so he thought he might as well give it a try.

Oddly, it didn't taste as bad as he thought it would, but it didn't really taste that great either. The eggs were a bit on the soggy side and the ham was cold, but other than that it tasted all right. Better to have that than to go hungry. "I wonder if they're going to give us that gravy soaked stuffing casserole thing they fed us yesterday for lunch." Hunter said as he poked his food a bit with his fork. "That didn't taste half bad."

"I just hope they don't give us that fried chicken beef stake they gave us for dinner again. That tasted like tuna shit." Riley said.

The others mumbled in agreement and continued their meal at an unrushed pace. Upon scanning the room, Axel noticed that Rodent was sitting all by his lonesome at a table across the room. There was a distinct look in his eyes that told he hoped someone, anyone, would sit down at his table. No one did, and a crowding at other tables suggested why. "I think I'm gonna invite that Rodent guy over here. You guys all right with that?" Axel said, never taking his eyes off the lone squirrel. 

"Fine with me," Riley replied.

"I don't really care. Do what you want," San said as he poked his food around.

That said, Axel got from his seat and headed over to where Rodent was sitting. At this moment, he noticed that another recruit was walking towards Rodent as well, but he didn't seem to have the friendly intentions that Axel had. _He wouldn't do anything to him, this isn't high school after all._ Those thoughts, though logical, didn't ease Axel's doubts. That one guy had that look in his eyes, he was about to make Rodent's life miserable and have loads of fun while doing it. Axel glared at him, but the other squirrel didn't seem to notice. The only thing on his mind was his target.

Rodent was generally a shy squirrel. He usually kept to himself so as not to make too many enemies, but there were always those who picked on him. Though no one was talking to him, he thought that all the recruits had out grown bullying, until he suddenly found his face in his breakfast. The other squirrel, whose nametag read Jones, laughed as he slammed Rodent's face down onto the tray. Everyone suddenly grew silent and all eyes were on them. A few other squirrels, probably Jones's stupid friends, were laughing but other than that, no one said anything.

Jones loved to bully other around. He thought he had the right to do so, as he was a bit higher in society what with him being born into wealth and all. He had never been challenged by anyone and all of his peers did what he said. That was all about to change. Jones was just about to turn around to join his friends when he was suddenly knocked to the ground. Looking up, he saw Axel glaring down at him, his fists tight and resting at his sides ready to be drawn in case a fight broke out. "My God, aren't you a little old to be picking on others like that?" Axel said with anger straining his voice. He then raised his fists, as if getting ready for a fistfight. "You wanna pick on someone? Pick on me then!" Riley was at Axel's side in a heartbeat, though it wasn't Axel's safety he was concerned about. Axel was a hot head with a nasty temper. It didn't take much to make him angry, and when he was pushed enough, there was always hell to pay. Riley was there mainly to hold Axel back just incase Jones decided to throw a few insults their direction. 

Jones slowly rose to his feet. No one had ever spoken to him like that, much less pushed him down. He was outraged by this and decided he had to maintain his superior position. It was only when Jones was standing that Axel noticed how much bigger he was. He was about twice Axel's size, but that didn't frighten him in the least. The last thing he was gonna do was let some big oaf push him around. "You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into, pal!" Jones said, lifting his finger to Axel's face. "You're gonna regret ever messing with me." Jones then stormed off, his lackeys following him.

Axel shook his head and sighed with frustration. At this time, Hunter and San had made their way over. "You just can't go anywhere without making an enemy, can you?" Riley said. "You're too violent. You need to learn to control your anger." 

"My anger is under control, thank you very much." Axel replied, leering at him. Riley gave him a skeptical look, but decided it was not a good idea to point out Axel's flaws when he was in that mood.

Rodent had just finished wiping off his face when he felt a paw on his shoulder. "Come on, you can sit with us," a familiar voice said. He turned around and found himself once again facing Axel. "Hey, you're that guy from earlier. Why are you being so nice to me?" Axel narrowed his eyes at Rodent and his somewhat friendly grin turned into a loose frown. "Would you rather I be mean to you?" Unaware of the fact that Axel was joking, Rodent's eyes grew large and he started sputtering out random words in order to save himself a beating that Axel's eyes threatened to unleash upon him. A swift chuckle escaped Axel as his expression suddenly changed from dark to amused. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Come on, sit with us." A swift wave of the hand in the general direction of the table Axel and co. were just dining at brought Rodent to his feet. He was glad to be finally accepted as something more than the little dork with glasses. Strange thing was that Axel was almost never such a social squirrel and usually let Riley invite new comers to join them for lunch or whatever. But being social was easy when the target of your sympathy was obviously begging for compassion. A beg that Axel couldn't ignore.

After breakfast had finished, the recruits were herded out of the cafeteria like cattle and back onto the training field. Jones kept leering at Axel and Axel kept trying not to laugh at how stupid Jones looked. Rodent never strayed from their group, as it was the only place he was accepted and Hunter took on a friendly rivalry with one of Riley's bunkmates, Blaine. Over all, the day sucked. The training missions got more and more tedious and Ancon made them do double push-ups when Rodent tripped during the ten mile run. Rodent was sure everyone would hate his guts after that, but Riley and Axel assured him otherwise. San did get annoyed with him messing up, but not to the point to where he'd hate him and Hunter just sympathized with him. Razor remained silent the whole day and, though he showed a slight fondness for Rodent as a companion, he remained neutral. All in all, the boys were glad when the day was over and they could return to their bunks for some much needed sleep.

Axel had finally achieved the state of rest in which neither outside distractions nor terrifying nightmares could disturb his slumber. Dreamless sleep. It was rare that his mind would allow him this bit of heaven on earth as his fragile subconscious was prone to frightening situations and gory images as he slept, but only in this state would he fully and truly have a good night's sleep. However, someone was determined to drag him out of his paradise and let him take part in another type of heaven on earth.

He felt someone shaking him and whispering harshly at him to wake up. He growled loudly as he was brought back to consciousness against his will. He opened one eye and sneered at the one that had disturbed his rest. "Dammit! What the fuck do you want, Hunter?"

"So you woke up this time," came Riley's voice, causing Axel to sit up. Upon looking around the bunk, he saw that Hunter, Riley, and Blaine were all in uniform, while San was getting dressed. Razor was still asleep and he also noticed that it was midnight. "What the hell is going on?" he said as he threw the covers off of his body. "The Air Force camp is nearby and we have a few friends that are expecting us." Riley explained. "We told them about you last night and they're looking forward to meeting you."

"You went last night without telling me?"

"Hey, we tried to wake you up, but you were out cold." Hunter explained.

"Why does Razor get to sleep?"

"We asked him if he wanted to go with us, and he said he didn't."

"You mean you actually got him to talk?"

"Well, no, but you could tell by his body language."

"Okay," Axel sighed and got out of bed. "Just who are these 'friends' of yours?"

"Oh you'll see," Hunter said, winking to San who had finished getting dressed.

When Axel was dressed as well, all five squirrels crept out of the bunk, doing all they could to remain undetected. They swiftly made their way out of the campgrounds and into a nearby forest. From there, they proceeded to climb a rather tall (not steep, mind you) hill that over looked both the Army training grounds and the Air Force camp. Far from the lights of the city, the sky was lit by the large full moon and the millions of stars that covered the sky. Then they waited, but not for long. 

"Hi guys," came a voice from the opposite side of the hill. The voice sounded somewhat sensual and very feminine. It was then that five female squirrels dressed in military Air Force attire appeared. As they approached, Axel took note of their physical appearance. All of them were beautiful young women, yet for some reason they each wore official training uniforms of combat aviator trainees. Surely they can't be going into actual air combat, right. The one in the front was a brown squirrel, with dark brown hair and green eyes. She had a slender figure and a beautiful tail. The one to her left was a grey squirrel with black eyes and blonde hair. To the right of the first squirrel was a red squirrel with green eyes and long brown hair with a white tip at the end of her bushy tail (sort of like Conker's tail). To her left was another grey squirrel with long red hair and dark brown eyes. To the far right was the one that really caught Axel's attention.

This squirrel was also grey. She had deep blue eyes and a beautiful face. She had a lovely bushy tail and soft grey fur. Her hair, which was almost spiky (not spiked up, mind you) was just a few inches short of shoulder length, but it was the oddest color. It was…..blue. Short spiky blue hair, blue as the sea, that matched her eyes perfectly. Definitely not what Axel was expecting. "Hope we didn't keep you boys waiting too long," the brown squirrel said. She then grinned and skimmed her gaze across the soldiers before her. "And you must be Axel, right?" she said when her eyes rested on him. Axel remained speechless, but without a surprised look on his face, and nodded his head. 

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Miya. The grey squirrel to my left is Gena, the red one is Sabrina, the grey on with the red hair is Kaila, and the one with the blue hair is Pretz." Each of the girls nodded as their names were called and Axel noticed a hint of humiliation in Pretz. He couldn't tell if it was that fact that she was known as "the one with blue hair" or if it were because of her unusual name. Whatever the reason, Axel (being the gentleman that he is ^_^) shook paws with each of them. 

After the introductions were complete, all ten squirrels sat in a large circle in the grass and talked. Not of anything particular, just random thoughts. It was then that Axel noticed the bits of 'romance' happening around him. Sabrina and Hunter obviously had a thing for each other, Miya and San were really hitting it off, Blaine and Gena just got right to it and were making out on the grass, while Riley and Pretz were deep in their own conversation. _Really, Riley's always been what one could call a 'ladies man'_ Axel thought to himself with a sigh. While it may not have been apparent to anyone else there, Axel knew better. Riley was secretly making the move on Pretz and while she may not even notice it herself, she was falling for it. Hook, line, and sinker as they say. Not that Riley was a lady starved bastard like too many guys are, he just had a way of making a girl fall for him before she even realized it. 

"Pretz and I have been best friends for years," Kaila said when she noticed Axel observing the love line forming between the blue haired squirrel and his best friend. "Same with me 'n Riley. You guys sign up together?" Axel asked as he turned his gaze back to Kaila. "Yeah, when we heard that the Air Force…"

"Sorry to interrupt," Riley said, causing both squirrels to look up. "Pretz really wants to get to know you, Axel, and we don't know much about each other, Kaila. Say we switch off for a bit?"

"Uh, sure.." Axel and Kaila answered in unison. "I'll finish that thought later," Kaila said as she got up and Pretz took her place beside Axel. Riley winked at Axel as he indicated Pretz with his hand. Axel sighed and shook his head. There was no doubt Pretz was in his little 'love trap' and it'd be no time before she noticed 'what a great guy' he was. Axel wasn't nearly as lucky with the ladies, that's why he treasured Sarah so. She was his one true and only love, and now…….

Dammit! You're doing it to yourself again, Axel! He thought as he sighed. Pretz was sitting next to him with her knees to her chest and pulling grass out of the ground. It was obvious she was waiting for him to say something. Unfortunately, he wasn't all the great with starting a conversation. His shyness prevented him from doing so, but he could tell that Pretz was just as shy, if not shyer, than he was. "So…Pretz," she looked at him, "No offense, but what kind of name is Pretz for a girl?"

"What kind of name is Axel for a squirrel?" she retorted playfully.

"Touché`."

Pretz let out a small laugh. "You know, you're friend, Riley, is something else." She said, hugging her knees a bit. _Here it goes…_ Axel shook his head with that thought and a small grin. "You're best friends, right? How long have you known each other?"

"Well," Axel thought as he turned his gaze upward "I think it was second grade that we met. That'd be eleven years I guess."

"Do you remember how you met?"

"Uh, I think it was at recess. I got in a fight with this one guy. I was kicking his ass until a bunch of his friends ambushed me from behind,"

"What happened?"

"Basically, I got the shit beaten out of me."

"You got into a lot of fights in school?"

"Plenty. Anyway, when I started bleeding from both my nose and mouth they decided I had 'learned my lesson' or whatever. I was actually hurt pretty bad and I couldn't get up on my own. That's when Riley came over and helped me to my feet."

"Interesting, Riley said that you two first met in class on the third day of school."

"Well, that was the day that we had to go around and get to know our class mates. I didn't remember anyone on that day, and I didn't really care. Before I met Riley I didn't have any friends."

Pretz's eyes widened a bit at this. "You didn't have any friends at all? Why not?"

"I was just scared to talk to the other kids. I made plenty of enemies though. That's why I got into so many fights. That and I have the worst temper you'll ever see in your life."

Pretz tried to conceal her laughter, but failed. "What's so funny?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow. "I just can't picture someone as shy as you with a bad temper,"

"Oh trust me, when I get mad enough, you won't need to. Anyway, Kaila said you were best friends,"

"Yeah, grew up together, signed up together as well,"

"Really, traffic control?"

"Nope, airal combat."

"Actual combat? I didn't think they allowed women to serve in combat positions."

"That's why we signed up for the Air Force. It's the only branch that allowed it. Besides, the military's really hurting for soldiers, so they finally decided to let women fight as well. Over half the Air Force is made up of women right now. Also, it was a Tedi air raid that attacked my home town a few days ago."

"Sharmon right?"

"Yeah, were are you from?"

"Pincas Jerslin,"

"That's way out there, isn't?"

"Yeah,"

"Look at those two hit it off over there," Riley whispered to Kaila. "They really complement each other," _And if Pretz had some how evaded my love trap, I'd say they'd make a great couple_. "I'll say they do," Kaila added. "It would do Pretz good to get a boyfriend. She needs to get out more."

"I doubt Axel will be looking for love after what happened,"

"Right, his girlfriend.." Kaila mumbled quietly.

"You know, Pretz sort of looks like Sarah. Guess that's why it's so easy for Axel to talk to her."

"Yeah, he didn't really say much to me. Is he all right?"

"He's just unstable and prefers to be left alone, that's all."

Kaila sighed as she nodded. She felt sorry for they guy, she even liked him a little, but it was too soon after Sarah's death for her to want to try anything. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. Axel and Pretz continued talking for the next hour. It was as though something clicked and they were suddenly old friends. Axel was a bit concerned about Pretz when she began discussing Riley again. He'd definitely got her and Axel just hoped Riley could _keep_ his girlfriend this time. His relationships never lasted more than a month. Axel sweatdropped remembering Riley's last girlfriend. He chuckled and hoped it wouldn't be as ugly this time as he and Pretz continued talking.

To be continued…. 

Um, so I don't get sued…

Disclaimer: The name Pretz is a copyright of whoever made the Final Fantasy animated movie/series.

Please review! I beg of you! ::puppy dog eyes::


	5. Private Slugger

A/N: There's no author's note this time

A/N: There's no author's note this time! HA! Made you look! : P

Axel stood in the line up between Riley and Hunter, still trying to blink the sleepiness out of his eyes. He and the others had gotten back to camp at around two a.m. that morning and although those two hours they spent with the girls seemed insignificant, they really made a difference. "Hey Axel," Riley whispered. "Did you find out why Pretz's hair is blue last night. I wanted to ask her, but you know…" Axel smirked at his friend. "As a matter of fact I did. Some weird gene mutation or something."

"I will now give you maggots only two minutes to finish the obstacle course from yesterday. Despite what lazy shits you all are, that should still be enough time! Do I make myself clear?" Ancon shouted, smacking his palm with his riding crop.

"Sir yes sir!"

_Here we go again…_ Axel sighed. Another day of harsh training ahead, starting with the same old challenge on new terms. Perhaps Ancon wanted to weed out Rodent from the group, but Rodent actually seemed confident. Ancon nearly broke his stopwatch in a death grip of frustration when Rodent finished with one second to spare. The whole time Axel couldn't stop thinking about Pretz. Even when it was his turn to run, he still thought about her. He felt something for her, not something out of love mind you, something out of friendship. It was much too soon after their first meeting for them to fall in love as well as to soon after Sarah's death. Yet, there was that doubt in his mind that warned him he might be falling for her. He heard Riley's mocking in the back of his mind as he finished second once again, but all thought was focussed on the nagging feeling in his brain. 

He shook his head and concluded, _She's just a friend. Besides, she's falling for Riley._ A small grin appeared on his face. _I'm just concerned things will get ugly between her and Riley. That's what must be bothering me. I don't want Riley to be hurt and I definitely don't want Pretz to get her heart broken. Sometimes girls can be very sensitive when it comes to love. _Oddly, as suddenly as the thought had accured to him, the fog was lifted from his mind and a wave of relief spread through his body. He had everything figured out at the moment, he just hoped it would last for a decent amount of time.

Breakfast was the same as yesterday, weird egg concoction of some sort, but the ham was hot this time. Rodent was dining among them, of course, and they day didn't seem so bad. That is until Axel felt a presence behind him as he ate. He sighed, knowing perfectly well who it was. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you, Jones." Axel said without taking his eyes off his food. Jones folded his arms and laughed. "Ah, you're no fun," Jones mumbled in an amused manner as he walked off, his friends following him. Axel shook his head with an angry look in his eyes. "That guy is really starting to get on my nerves,"

"Who the hell does he think he is anyway?" Hunter asked. "He really needs to grow out of this bullying bullshit. What is he, twenty-four? Twenty-five?"

"His mannerisms suggest eight, but he looks to be about twenty-two I guess."

"To bad the mind doesn't grow with the body."

"Yeah, well if he keeps pissing me off, he's not gonna have any body left!"

"Calm down, Axel!" Riley said.

"I can't calm down! My patients is wearing thin and if he doesn't knock off the crap, I'm going to kill him!" At this time, every squirrel in ear length had heard Axel's declare of anger, and were all staring at him. Axel, who was already at the melting point, was not pleased to see that he had drawn so much attention. "What the hell are you looking at!?" he snapped in such a forceful manner all the recruits immediately returned to their meals, not daring to look back. Axel's eyes were narrow with rage as he turned back to his breakfast. Riley shook his head while everyone else just looked confused. All except Razor, who continued eating in silence as if nothing had happened. 

After breakfast, the recruits were lead out to the shooting range for their first shooting practice. Ancon handed each of them a rifle and showed them how to assemble, load, fire and quickly reload their weapon. (A/N: I would go into detail about that here, but I have no idea how to assemble, load, or quickly reload a gun. Speaking of which, I have very little knowledge about guns. So if I get the name of a rifle or firearm of any kind wrong, sorry). Shots rang out across the range as the trainees tried their best to out do each other in terms of accuracy. Axel was surprised at how well his accuracy was, and he was quiet proud of it too. While some were doing pretty well for beginners, no one measured up to Axel. Amazing thing was that this was his first time ever handling a real gun.

"Nice work, Private," Ancon commented, watching as Axel hit his target dead on, reloaded, and then shot another well aimed bullet at the bull's eye. "Looks like we've got ourselves a prodigy here. Keep it up, boy." Ancon's footsteps slowly got further away as he scanned the other recruits. Axel never took his sights off the target as he tried to out do himself with each shot. The only time he took his eyes off the target was to wipe a bit of sweat from his forehead. The sun was beating down on him, making it difficult to concentrate, but he still did a beautiful job of making the others jealous. The only one who came close to Axel's accuracy was Hunter. "Think you can hit a direct bull's eye?" he whispered. "Cause I know I can. Up for a bit of challenge?"

"You bet," Axel replied. He wanted to see how far his newly discovered gift could go, and nothing can push a guy to his limits like a bit of friendly competition.

Axel reloaded his weapon and steadied his position. He shifted his position in the dirt as he was lying down on his stomach, and took aim. He slowly moved his rifle until the little red dot on the target was right between his cross hairs. He licked his lips as he slowly put pressure on the trigger, being careful to hold his rifle steady. 

A sudden pain shot through his body, causing him to yelp. His rifle went off, but far from where he intended to place the bullet. The target now had a new hole at the very top and Axel was enraged when he realized what had just happened. Someone had stomped on his tail. He looked left and right trying to find the culprit, but there was no one in sight. Not that it mattered, Axel knew exactly who had done it. _Next time I see Jones, he dies!_

Axel was still angry by the time lunch was served and his tail still hurt. He was scanning the cafeteria eagerly looking for Jones. He had had enough of this kindergarten crap! If Jones wasn't going to grow up on his own, Axel was just going to have to help him. "You were pretty good in the shooting range today, Axel." Rodent said, trying to bring his new friend out of his dark mood. "Wha? Uh, thanks Rodent." He said, still scanning the room.

"Axel, please, just let it go this time." Riley said. "Although he doesn't act like it at all, Jones is an adult, and so are you. If you fight him you'll just be bringing yourself down to his level."

"I don't care about that. He's pushed me too far! Obviously no one has ever shown that guy proper disepline. Don't you think it's about time for that?"

"Absolutely, so why don't we just let the Drill Instructors take care of him?"

"I am not going to be pushed around, dammit! Someone has to put him in his place."

"Whatever you say,"

Axel stuffed a spoon full of his lunch into his mouth as he continued scanning the room. But eventually, he decided to stop. It was giving him a headache and he was sure that Jones would come around eventually. There would be plenty of time for headaches later. "Anyway……how 'bout those Mets?" San said eagerly trying to break the silence. Hunter and San slowly started up a conversation and Riley was quick to jump in. Rodent, Axel, and Razor continued to eat their meals in silence, each thinking his own thoughts. Riley tried in vain to get Axel in on the conversation and away from his dark mood. Nothing seemed to work on the guy. "Just leave me alone, Riley," he said finally. Riley did and Axel returned to his meal.

Axel's anger finally began to slip away as he ate, but that proved to be short lived. He felt a presence behind him and his anger began to slowly rise once again. His heart beat faster as it pumped massive amounts of adrenaline into his blood stream as it usually did right before a fight. He sat there and pretended not to notice as Jones inched ever closer. He waited for that moment for him to get within striking range, or for him to do something to piss him off even more. Either or would do, he just wanted to plant his fist right into Jones's ugly face. By this time Hunter and San, who were sitting across from Axel, noticed Jones. Axel tried to silently signal to them to stop being so obvious when he felt a hand on the back of his head. 

There was an abrupt splattering sound as Axel found his face in his lunch. Jones let out a huge laugh just as he had the day before when he slammed Rodent's face into his tray. Once again, every recruit was staring at Jones and his latest 'victim'. _Uh, oh. Here it comes…_ Riley thought as he began to inch away from Axel. The fuse had been lit, and he was just seconds away from exploding. Axel slowly lifted his head from the tray. He then took his right paw and wiped the food from his face. In one swift movement, he wiped down the center of his face, revealing his angry eyes from underneath. They had such fire and rage inside them that in made Hunter and San jump. Rodent gulped and copied Riley's movements as he scooted farther from Axel.

Axel slowly turned his head around and looked over his shoulder. There was Jones, laughing at him. He didn't seem phased at all by his hateful eyes and continued to laugh. Axel gritted his teeth and slowly stood up. He turned to face Jones, his 'striking right' clenched at his side and waited for the cue to fire. Jones took a break from laughing and looked at the smaller squirrel before him with amusement. "Hey, I think you got a little something on your face,"

But before Jones could fall into another fit of laughter, he felt pain rush through his face. The very second that Axel's fist connected with Jones's cheek the other recruits were on their feet. Shouts of "Kick his ass!" and "Don't let that little pussy push you around!" filled the air as a crowd quickly formed around the two fighters. Axel now had both his fists in the air and took a stance similar to that of a boxer. Just as Jones recovered from the first punch, Axel swung at him with his left then sailed in with his right. Riley sighed and sweatdropped. He had seen this many times before and whatever hopes he had of his friend outgrowing his tendency for violence had vanished. _Oh well,_ Riley thought with a sigh_ if you can't beat 'em, join 'em._ "Kick his ass, Axel!" 

Axel allowed Jones to recover from the punches this time. There was no fun in pounding someone into a bloody pulp if they didn't get a chance to fight back. Jones was stunned by all that had just happened, but that didn't stop him from pulling his fist back. He swung at Axel with all his power, but his accuracy left something to be desired. In other words, he missed. Axel swooped in and socked him right on his right cheek, then hit him with an upper cut with his left. As Jones stumbled back, he quickly tried to shake it off. Axel approached him slowly which gave him enough time to recover. Jones pulled back his fist and shot it forward once again. This time, however, it landed on it's mark. Jones's fist connected violently with Axel's face. However Axel, who had been in plenty of fistfights in his short life, recovered quickly and blocked the second fist that flew at him.

Jones grew angry with Axel's superior fighting skills and launched his foot into the air. The toe of his combat boot struck Axel's stomach hard, causing the other squirrel to gasp. Jones grinned and pulled his foot back to give Axel another good kick in the gut. What he hadn't anticipated was that as Axel keeled forward from the blow, he wrapped his arms around his leg tightly and was not about to let go. Jones tried in vain to free his foot from Axel's grip. In a flash, Axel kicked Jones's other leg out from underneath him. With nothing more to support his weight, Jones fell flat on his back. Axel was on top of him in a heartbeat. He unleashed punch after punch on his rival's face. Jones was rendered completely helpless as Axel continued beating his face in without mercy.

"All right! What the hell is going on here!?" shouted a large voice from behind the crowd. A voice belonging to the one Sergeant Rico.

A/N: There you have it folks. That large grey Sergeant squirrel from the game is going to be known as Sergeant Rico in this fic. I know the name doesn't really seem to fit him very well, but oh well. I couldn't think of anything else to name him. Arigato to everyone who gave me name suggestions at gamefaqs! 

Axel was oblivious to the shouts of the Serg until his felt a large hand grip the back of his uniform collar. He was violently pulled off of Jones and onto his feet. Still under the control of his rage, Axel tried once again to rush Jones but was instead choked by his own shirt collar. Rico kept a tight grip on Axel and pulled his arm back suddenly, sending Axel to the floor. It was then that Axel finally realized what was going on. _Fuck. I'm in deep shit this time…._

He wasn't alone, however. While Rico had gotten a hold of Axel, Jones tried to land one good punch on him while he could, even with the Serg standing right in front of him. He had been humiliated and he figured he was in trouble as it was. That's when Ancon stepped in and held Jones back. Now both fighters were bond by their superiors and, obviously, were in a lot more trouble than anyone needed at the moment. "What the hell is going on here?" Rico repeated.

"I saw that little dipshit slug this big dipshit in the face." Ancon replied, obviously referring to the two bond recruits. "What do you have to say for yourself now, Slugger?"

Axel stared at the wall to his left, his eyes still harboring anger. Jones had a bit of a grin on his face. He had figured that he wasn't in as much trouble as Axel, but he was in trouble none the less. It took Ancon to remind him of that. "What the hell are you smiling at?! You think this is funny?!" Jones suddenly straightened out his expression and stood as straight as he could under Ancon's grip. "What do you want me to do with them?"

"Put them on a half hour punishment," Rico said. "Then send them to my office. I want to deal with them personally."

With that said, Sergeant Rico shoved Axel forward, causing him to land on his face on the hard tile floor. Just as he started to get up he was pulled to his feet. "All right! Move it, Slugger!" Ancon said as he pushed Axel and Jones through the cafeteria and out to the training field. The other recruits slowly began to file back to their tables and finish their meals, discussions of the fight filled the air as they did so. Riley shook his head, "Tried to warn him."

Axel shifted uncomfortably in the wooden chair. Although punishment had only been a half-hour long, Ancon really pushed both him and Jones to their limits. His muscles burned and his sides were aching. He barley had enough time to catch his breath before he was rushed into the Serg's office. He slouched in his seat as he looked around. Jones was sitting next to him, mumbling to himself. Occasionally Axel could make out what he was saying. Something about how life wasn't fair and he spoke as if someone was listening and actually cared. It was sad, really.

The door creaked open as Sergeant Rico made his entrance. Axel suddenly became rather nervous. He had gotten in plenty of trouble for fighting in school, but nothing like this. He didn't know what they were going to do, but it was obvious to anyone that he was in for it. "I apologize for the wait, gentlemen," Rico said calmly as he took his seat. "Before we begin," Rico paused and reached into his desk drawer. He pulled out two portfolios and dropped them on his desk. "I have quite a record on the both of you. Apparently, you've had a bit of a problem in school, Slugger." At this point, he shot Axel a stern looked, making the young recruit slouch even more. "Sit up, boy! Now, apparently you had an uncontrollable tendency to get into fights at school. While you, Bugger, have had yer own tendency to pick on the other kids. Am I right boys?"

"Yes sir," Jones and Axel replied in unison.

"Right," Rico looked over the both of them. "Well, with that said, I can pretty much guess what happened, but I'm going to allow you to tell me what just happened back there. Well, Slugger, how 'bout you start us off? What happened?" 

"Sir, that phsyco little bitch over there just…" Jones began on a sort of rampage, when Rico interrupted.

"I don't remember asking you a God damn thing!" He turned back to Axel. "Slugger, speak up son! What happened?"

"Well sir, I saw him picking on Private Rodent the other day and well, I sorta stepped in. Since then he's been intentionally pissing me off."

"Right, and you felt the need to punch him?"

"Sir, he slammed my face into my food and earlier today during shooting practice he stomped on my tail."

Rico slowly turned his gaze towards Jones. "Is this true, boy?"

"Yes sir," Jones replied, almost inaudibly.

"You know something, boys? You both sound like children. It's pathetic! You are men now! Behavior like this at your age is unacceptable, especially in the military! For the next week you two will be on punishment both during your regular training as well as extra duties. If you are to become true men and soldiers, you will need to be strictly disciplined. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Glad to hear it. Dismissed!"

"This is all your fault you know," Jones said for the millionth time. Axel grumbled to himself and tried to keep himself from beating Jones with the mop. The two of them were ordered to mop each bathroom, but not before scrubbing each toilet and urinal until they shined. "If you could've just learned to control your temper,"

"Cram it will ya!" Axel snapped.

"See? There you go again!"

"Will you just shut the hell up! You brought this all upon yourself! If you had just left Rodent alone none of this would've happened! What was your problem with him anyway? He never did anything to you."

"What do you mean? Just look at the guy. He's an eyesore."

"That doesn't mean you have to pick on him! What's wrong with you anyway? I could expect that kind of behavior from elementary kids."

Jones grew silent and continued mopping. Axel was pissed at the way he was acting. His better judgement was the only thing keeping him from attacking him again. "No witty retort? Not surprised, I doubt someone with your intelligence level could muster one."

"Now who's being immature?!" Jones snapped. "Name calling…honestly."

"I get it," Axel said, smirking. "You're just pissed because I kicked your ass in front of the whole world. You had it coming."

Jones's mop suddenly collided with the floor. He tossed it away in anger and headed over to the corner of the bathroom. He picked up a bucket of dirty water and walked back to his previous location. "What the hell are you doing?!" He suddenly said. Axel gave him a weird look. "Have you lost your mind? What's gotten into you?" Jones glared at him with an evil grin on his face, then he tossed the bucket into the air. But he didn't toss it at Axel, as anyone would've expected. Instead, he tossed it at himself.

"It's official, he's a dumbass." Axel mumbled as Jones crawled around the floor, covered in the filthy water. He suddenly shuffled to the corner of the bathroom. "Calm down! I didn't mean it!" he yelled at a very confused Axel. Axel in turn just shook his head and sweatdropped. _Must've knocked him senseless during the fight or something._ "All right! What's going on now?!" Ancon said as he barged in. "He lost it and threw a bucket at me!" Jones shouted from his corner, pointing an accusing finger at Axel. "Slugger! What the hell is wrong with you boy!" Ancon yelled. Axel just shook his head and stuttered in shock. He couldn't piece any words together. "Shut up Slugger! You clean up this mess this instant then get yer ass out to the training field!" He turned to Jones. "You're dismissed, boy. Get the hell outta here!"

Jones walked past Ancon, who was staring sternly at Axel. "Just a little trick I picked up from 'Fight Club'." He mouthed silently as he grinned. Axel felt like his rage was going to kill him right there. He was pissed all over again, but this time he couldn't do anything about it and as it was, he was already facing at least another week of punishment. "Get to work dammit!" Ancon yelled, practically scaring Axel out of his fur. He sighed silently as he began cleaning up the mess Jones had so graciously made for him. _I'm going to kill him. One of these days, when he least expects it, I am going to kill him._

Axel slowly stumbled into the cafeteria. After cleaning up the mess, he had to under go extensive training. Dinner had started ten minutes ago and he was very tired and very hungry. His feet were sore and nearly bleeding and his leg muscles ached beyond normal comprehension. Yet he somehow managed to grab the last tray of food and make it to his table. Along the way, he tried not to draw too much attention. However, that proved to be impossible as his stomach complained loudly do to the lack of nourishment. Riley and Rodent scooted over to make room for him as he wearily placed his tray down and sat.

"You okay?" Riley asked. "Looks like they really took it outta you." Axel looked at him as he stuffed a spoon full of gravy soaked whatever it was in his mouth. "Nothing I can't handle. I'll be fine." 

"What'd they do to you anyway?" San asked.

"Originally Jones and I were both put on punishment for a week. However, curtiousy of that dickhead, I got an additional week as well as extra duties."

"What did he do?"

"Have you ever seen Fight Club?"

That night, the recruits slowly headed back to their bunks. Axel sat on his bed and slipped his boots off. "Holy shit my feet are killing me," he moaned as he tried to massage the pain out of his right foot. "I'm too tired to move."

"I guess that means you're not coming with us tonight?" San said as he began changing.

"No, I'll come. I really need to get outta here."

"Right,"

With a loud crash, the door was flung open and Ancon stepped in, his trademark riding crop in hand. "All right, boys. Lights out. Tomorrow we will be continuing our shooting practice as well as our normal routine. And Slugger, I've got my eye on you. Don't try anything stupid tomorrow. Got that boy?"

"Sir yes sir!" Axel replied.

"Right. Night maggots."

The walls of the bunk shook a bit as Ancon made his exit. It seemed that the doors were getting worse and worse treatment each day. "He's going to break something one day." Hunter commented as he slid into bed. Axel sighed as he began unbuttoning his shirt. He hardly mustered up the will to change that night. He was much to fatigued to really want to do so, but he feared he'd be in even more troubled if the uppers caught him sleeping in his uniform. After wearily changing he climbed into bed. His pillow felt especially soft that night as he closed his eyes. Sleep claimed him almost immediately.

Through the depth of Axel's restful and dreamless world was a very distinct, yet very quite sound. Something that one usually wouldn't hear when asleep, but for some reason, he could. His ear twitched as he unconsciously tried to pick up the sound. He was sleeping on his stomach with his face buried in his pillow as if he were trying to escape the noise, but his right ear had better vantage from their and was picking up whatever it was clearly. Finally, his subconscious was concerned enough with the sound that it decided it was time for investigation. 

A/N: I heard somewhere that when we're asleep, we hear everything that goes on, but we only wake up if our subconscious decides that the noise is important enough. I don't know if this is fact, I've slept through fire engine's before. I mean, you'd think my subconscious would decide that the sound of fire truck alarms right in the street were important enough, but then again my house wasn't the one of fire, so maybe it decided to just let me sleep. I hope that's the case or else what would happen if my house ever did catch on fire?

Axel blinked open his eyes and looked around the dark bunk from his current position. He wanted to avoid moving at all costs as he might not get back to sleep as easily. He heard the noise clearly, it was a rather loud and high pitched squeaking noise. He pushed himself into a sitting position and scanned the area with his eyes. With the moonlight aiding him as it poured through the window behind him, he identified the location of the sound. It was coming from Hunter's bed. Each time he moved the bedsprings would squeak loudly, indicating they were badly in need of attention. _Wonder what happened, they weren't like that last night._ Whatever the reason, the noise and cause had been identified and he could go back to sleep.

He layed his head back down on his pillow and drew his blanket up to his chest, resting his right hand on his stomach. He closed his eyes and sighed. Sleep wasn't coming as easily as it had been just a few hours before, but he could still feel it in the back of his mind. All he had to do was wait.

**__**

Hey Axel,

Axel opened his eyes.

**__**

How's it goin' man? You really slugged that asshole at lunch today!

He sat up and put on a slightly annoyed expression. "What do you want, Harry?"

**__**

No need to be rude! Just thought I'd pop in and say 'hi'. We haven't talked in like a week. Why are you being so hostile?

"No offense, but I don't really like you all that much, incase you haven't noticed."

**__**

Why Axel, I'm hurt. We've been together for what? Nineteen years?

"Nineteen years too many if you ask me,"

**__**

Well I didn't! You're just mad 'cos your temper got you in trouble again, aren't you?

"Shut up."

**__**

Cheerful as usual, I see. Now come on! It's not that bad. Think of how much trouble you'd have gotten into if anyone ever found out about that one time. You know, back when you were eleven and you accidenlty…

"Shut up Harry! I don't need you to remind me of that!"

**__**

Well, if I don't remind you, then who will? 

"I don't want to be reminded of it at all!"

**__**

Well, it's not like you can just toss it aside and forget about it. It's part of your past and you can't change that. I wonder, what would happen if your mother ever found out about it?

"Shut up, Harry!"

**__**

What would've happened if Sarah ever found out?

"Dammit! Shut the fuck up!"

**__**

Now now, no need to swear.

"Go to hell you bastard!"

"Axel! What the hell are you yelling for?"

Axel nearly clasped his hands over his mouth when he realized he had been shouting. Now everyone was awake and staring at him, waiting for an explanation behind his yells. "Well, what's wrong? Why were you yelling?" San repeated, obviously annoyed about being woken up. Axel stammered for a logical reply. He couldn't just tell them about Harry, but they were all waiting and the longer it took him to come up with a response, the less likely they were going to believe it. Axel slowly mumbled out a few words, hoping that his brain would come up with something to finish his broken sentences. "Um…I.."

**__**

Had a nightmare…

"Had a nightmare…"

**__**

about the Tediz attacking my home town…

"about the Tediz attacking my home town…"

**__**

and ripping babies apart with their bare hands.

"and ripping babies apart with their bare hands."

**__**

And spilling their baby guts everywhere!

"That will be sufficient, thank you very much." Axel whispered to his invisible border. 

"Nightmare huh?" San replied. "That does sound pretty awful. What makes it even more terrifying is that that's something those Tedi bastards would do." San rubbed his eyes then looked at his digital watch he left on the nightstand. "Well, your timing couldn't be better. It's 11:56, might as well get up anyway."

San and Hunter began getting dressed while Razor went back to sleep. It took Axel a few seconds before he could move again. The stress of training had made him forget about Harry, but now he was back. A weird feeling filled him as he began getting dressed himself. The next few days were not going to be easy, that was for sure.

**__**

Hey, you owe me one, Axel.

"Ah, shove it! I wouldn't have needed your help in the first place if it weren't for you," he whispered so that San and Hunter couldn't hear.

**__**

Well, that's gratitude for ya. Talk to you later.

Axel could almost feel Harry retreating back into the depths of his mind. It made him shudder. _Fucking Harry always has to make my life miserable._ He finished dressing and sat on his trunk. He couldn't think normally after Harry made his random visits. He was always afraid that he'd hear what he was thinking and then use his thoughts against him, but Harry always knew what he was thinking anyway. But at least after a few days he could think comfortably. "Hey guys, Riley and Blaine are here," San whispered to the others. Axel stood up and slowly walked towards the door. Maybe talking with Pretz would get his mind off of his current predicaments.

To Be Continued….

Oh no! The main character hears voices in his head! Dun dun dun!!! This chapter wasn't all the great, was it? I didn't do a very good job of transitioning between scenes, but it'll do for now. Maybe I'll revise this chapter (probably not), but until then there's always room for improvement.

Please review!!! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!


	6. Graduation

A/N: I'd like to apologize for the poor quality of chapter five

A/N: I'd like to apologize for the poor quality of chapter five. I would've improved upon it, but I didn't really know how to make it not seem so rushed. That's okay, though. I think it was still a good chapter.

The cool wind of the night ran through the countryside. Axel closed his eyes as the wind rushed past him and provided him with cool comfort. The day had been scorching and this was just the therapy he and the others needed. He leaned back and supported his body weight with his arms as he sat on the cool and dry grass. He dug his fingers into the soil, crushing the grass between his paws. It was almost as if he could squeeze the water out of those healthy blades of grass. What a perfect way to relieve oneself of stress.

"Hey guys," came a familiar voice from over the hill. He looked over his shoulder to see the same familiar crew of female aviators. A soft smile came to his mouth. He was just glad to see Pretz again. The young squirrels formed back into their regular circle and began talking amongst each other again. Pretz had walked over to Riley and gave him a small hug. _He's definitely got her now,_ Axel thought as he wrapped his arms around her. He led her to a spot in the grass and the two of them sat down.

"Hey," came a small voice from Axel's right. He turned and looked up to see Kaila take her seat beside him in the grass. She settled in the grass and hugged her knees to her chest. "Hey," Axel responded quietly. 

"How're you?"

"Not too good, actually,"

"Why? What happened?"

"Got in trouble for fighting."

"Riley was right about you, yer a lose cannon, ne?"

"Hmm.."

Axel brought his gaze upward, then back at Kaila, then at Riley and Pretz. "You all right?" Axel looked back at Kaila, then at the ground for a brief moment, then back to her. "Yeah, sorta."

"You're a rather difficult person to talk with, you know."

"Yeah..well…uh, yeah."

Kaila snickered a bit. She couldn't help but think that he was cute. She cautiously scooted closer, being careful not to make him nervous as Riley had told her how Axel hated having his personal space invaded. "What's wrong. You talked a lot more last night. Is it me?"

Axel shook his head. "No, it's not you. I just…that…well…stuff."

Kaila smiled. "We just don't know each other well enough, do we? Is that it or is it that there's nothing to really talk about."

"Bit of both, but more the latter."

"Well, then….do you like star gazing?"

"What?"

Kaila leaned back and laid down on the grass. "Star gazing. I've always loved it. Care to join me?" Axel hummed silently as he leaned back onto the grass. He placed his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky. There were a few clouds in the sky, but other than that, it was clear. Good star gazing weather actually. "There really isn't a lot to talk about when it comes to star gazing, but it allows me to clear my mind," Kaila said. Axel could hear her voice loud and clear, but he wasn't concentrating on what she was saying. He still had his mind on Harry. Harry was basically a splinter in his brain, always tormenting him and showing up right when he had erased the memory of his existence from his mind for the time being. He didn't want to think about it, but the thought could not be avoided and it would only become worse if it were left ignored.

Something gradually began invading his train of thought. He heard the sound of someone calling to him in the back of his mind, but he chose to ignore it out of fear of who it could be. The voice gradually grew louder and was getting to the point where ignoring it was not a possibility. However, it was the feeling of something poking his arm that brought him out of his trance. 

"Man, when you space out you really space out." Pretz said. Axel quickly snapped his head to the left to see her sitting beside him in the grass. "Uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that," he stammered. For some reason, whenever he was brought out of a state of mind like that, he was always slightly nervous. "What were you thinking about anyway?"

"Nothing."

"Okay,"

Pretz layed back down in the grass and rested her hands on her chest. "What is it that you do?" Axel looked at her from his position in the grass, then looked back up at the sky. "What do you mean?" Pretz looked at him and rolled over to her side. "You know, what are you doing now? What are you're plans for the future?" Axel blinked a few times at the starry sky. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "I'm an art student."

"Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Animation. 2D and CG."

"Really,"

"I do some of my own work. Paintings and sketches, things along those lines, but it's just for fun."

"Paintings huh? What of?"

"Basically anything that comes to my mind. Most of them are dark and rather gory, though. But overall people really seem to like my creativity. I owe that in great part to my inspiration."

"And what would that be?"

"The sky."

He lifted his paw and pointed to the full moon being surrounded by clouds. "You see that cloud up there? It sort of looks like a skull. A flaming skull that's about to eat the moon. I could easily make a picture out of that. I might sketch it when I get the chance."

"You think you'll remember all the details?"

"All the details are inside my mind. It's not the clouds that I'm drawing, but my mental interpretation of what I could make out of it."

"Will you paint something for me someday?"

"Sure,"

Through out their conversation, Axel was too occupied to realize that Pretz had taken his mind off of Jones, his punishment, and even Harry all together. His mind stayed clear and free of disturbing thoughts the rest of the night and not even one single nightmare tried to disturb him. It was as if she had the power to clear his mind of unwanted concern and though those concerns did return they weren't as strong as they once were.

However, that did not eliminate that fact that the training was about to intensify. As the date for the troops to be sent out drew nearer the drill instructors pushed every recruit to his limits. There were no exceptions. Slowly but surely the young trainees began subconsciously learning discipline and improved in terms of speed, strength, and skill. It was a sight that made each of the Instructors as well as the Sergeants and Commanders proud.

"Well, this is it." Axel said to Rodent. The two were walking along the training grounds as final preparations were being made for the shipment of the new soldiers. "Tomorrow, we will be true soldiers. You feelin' okay?" There was a silent pause and Rodent never lifted his gaze from the ground as they walked. Whatever he was thinking about, he was in deep thought. "Huh? Sorry, didn't quite catch that." Axel suddenly stopped walking and placed his hands in his pockets. Rodent stopped as well and looked back at him. "Okay, what's wrong?" Axel asked. Rodent had been acting weird ever since he learned he would be assigned to Communications. Axel figured Rodent was upset that the Uppers didn't think he was soldier material, but there had to be something more to that. "I was just thinking," Rodent looked around, then walked over to Axel. He leaned in a bit and made sure no one was around before whispering the rest of the sentence. "..about the experiment."

"Experiment?" Axel whispered back just as quietly.

"No one's supposed to know about it. It's experiment number G7224. Indestructible Titanium laminate. I volunteered to be the first to be fitted with it in an actual combat scenario."

"What is it? Some sort of bullet proof suit?"

"It's more powerful than that. They say it's practically everything-proof."

"So when are you going to test it?"

"During the last assault. It'll take them a while to make the final touches."

"Hey guys!"

Rodent and Axel looked up to see Riley, San, Hunter, and Blaine walking towards them. "Don't tell them about the experiment." Rodent whispered. "Don't worry," Axel replied. "Where've you been all day?" Riley asked as he and the others arrived.

"Just walking around." Axel replied nonchalantly.

"Right. Still can't believe all our suffering ends tomorrow."

"I wouldn't say _all_ of our suffering." San said, matter-of-factly.

"You gotta point there. Still, it will be nice to graduate."

"Yeah, not a bad present they're giving me." Axel said.

"Present?" Hunter replied.

"Didn't he tell any of ya?" Riley said as he walked over to his friend and slapped him on the back. "Ol' Axel here's gonna be turning 20 tomorrow."

"Really? Tomorrow's your birthday?" Rodent asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's not that important," Axel replied. "aside from tomorrow being graduation as well I mean."

"Both of which are only eleven hours and twenty six minutes away." Blaine said.

"Eleven hours? What time is it?" Axel asked.

"12:34"

"What?! Shit! Shit! Shit! I'm late for my cleaning duty! Ancon is gonna be pissed!"

With out another word, Axel took off in a panicked pace. "He could really use a watch," Riley said, sweatdropping as his friend ran screaming off into the horizon. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful as the officials made their final preparations. Axel had to do a few push ups for being late and Riley took a quick trip into town, but other than that nothing special happened. The night, however, held a different story as the recruits went to meet their aviator friends (and girlfriends as the case may be for some) for the final time.

"Kaila was still pissed that I beat her score on the flight simulators," Axel heard Pretz say to Riley. Kaila leaned in closer to Axel. "She was cheating," she whispered. Axel gritted his teeth to keep him from laughing. Over the past few months, he and Kaila had grown rather close and he no longer felt uncomfortable around her. However, they hadn't grown as close as Kaila had hoped. She really like Axel and I mean she _really _liked him, but she never got passed the 'friends' barrier. _What's with this guy?_ Kaila thought as she watched Axel put the final touches on his sketch. _It's usually the guys that have the problem of falling in the friends zone. I don't get it. He's not like any guy I've ever met. He actually cares for women, either that or he's gay. _"I'm not gay," Axel said suddenly. Kaila blushed suddenly and pulled away. "How did you…"

"That's my little secret. Really, I thought women hated sex crazed guys. But, if that's what you want," Axel put his sketchbook on the grass and smiled evilly at Kaila.

"Now now, let us not have it come to that." Kaila said putting her paws in the air.

Axel stopped his advance and stared at her with a smirk on his face. "I'm sorry, Kaila. I just don't have the same feelings for you. I could never look at a women sexual if I didn't care about her." Kaila was at awe at Axel's statement, but then she gave him a stern and sly look. "Really? Never?" Axel paused for a moment. "I know you guys, you can't fool me."

"All right all right! Maybe every once in a while if I see a scantly clad hotty walking down the street or something but that's it! I'd never look at a women I knew personally like that. I'm not that kinda guy."

"Is that so?" Kaila said with a tell-tale grin on her face. She reached towards her shirt collar and slowly turned away. She kept looking over her shoulder at him with anticipation. _She's not gonna do what I think she's gonna do, is she?_ Kaila read his expressions perfectly and nodded her head. Before Axel could react, she turned around, her chest bare and exposed to him. Axel's jaw dropped and his eyes grew large as he stared at the girl before him. "K…Kaila!"

"I'd never flash a guy I didn't know personally. I'm not that kind of girl. Consider this your birthday present." She said with a soft laugh. Axel continued to stare with unblinking eyes. He had gotten to know Kaila rather well, but he didn't realize just how comfortable she was with him until now. "Your nose is bleeding." Kaila said with a laugh. "You naughty boy!" Axel brought his paw to his nose to discover that it was in fact bleeding. Kaila smiled and reached between her breast, pulling a white cloth from between them. "Here," she said. Axel's hand shook as he reached for the cloth. She dropped the cloth into this hand and he quickly placed in under his nose. He took this moment to look around.

San and Miya were talking.

Hunter and Sabrina were frenching. (awww..^_^)

Blaine and Gena were making out….again.

Riley and Pretz were talking as well.

_At least no one noticed._ Axel thought. Then a wave of guilt hit him. There was still one more person that may have witnessed what had just happened. Axel turned his gaze to the starry sky. The hurt was attacking him again, but at least he could apologize this time. _Sorry about that, Sarah._

**__**

Forget about Sarah, that was pretty hot!

"Dammit, shut the hell up Harry!"

"You say somethin' Axel?" Kaila said as she buttoned up her shirt. Axel threw his gaze to the ground. "Naw, just…it was nothing." Kaila suddenly turned around and slowly approached him. She sat down next to him and slowly leaned towards him until their foreheads touched. "Axel," she whispered as she closed her eyes. "I'm really going to miss you." With that, she planted a formal kiss on his cheek. She slowly leaned back and looked into his eyes for a response. However, Axel was doing all he could to avoid eye contact. "Kaila," he started, then finally allowed his eyes to lock with hers. "I….I'm…."

"Don't say anything," Kaila said suddenly placing her paw over his mouth. "I know how hard it is for guys, even descent guys like you, to express their feelings too much. I don't expect you to say that you love me since I know you don't feel that way. Maybe someday you will?"

There was a pause that filled the air between the two. Axel dropped his gaze to the ground. He stared at the grass for a few seconds without blinking until he closed his eyes completely. "Maybe," he replied. He opened his eyes and brought his gaze back up to Kaila. "but I can't guarantee anything." Kaila nodded her head. "I won't expect anything specific from you in the future. Except maybe for you to have changed somewhat, but that's to be expected, right?"

"Of course," 

"Hey you guys, com'ere!" They heard Blaine call. The two squirrels turned their attention to the others who had formed a circle in the grass. They shared a quick glance before getting to their feet to join them. Axel held his sketchbook in hand as he took a seat in the grass. "Axel," Riley said. He turned his attention to his friend, who in turn handed him a brown paper bag. "Here. Happy birthday, man." Axel took the bag from his grasp and slowly began to open it. "Glad to see you took your time wrapping it," Axel said sarcastically as he reached inside. When he pulled his hand out of the bag he was pleased to see what was resting in the palm of his paw. "Holy shit, limited edition." 

"What is it?" Pretz asked.

"Limited edition X-games sports watch. Thanks Riley!"

"Sports watch?" Pretz looked at Riley and cocked an eyebrow. "You gave him a sports watch?" Riley smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? The guy's an X-games fanatic."

Axel seemed satisfied enough as he set the watch and strapped it to his left wrist. It was definitely something he could've used sooner and would aid him deeply against his tendencies to be tardy. The next few hours went on relatively uneventful as the young recruits discussed their thoughts on completing basic training and moving into the heat of actual combat. They were anxious, of course. No more blanks, training missions and flight simulators. They were mere days away from the battle field where their skills, allies, and a little luck would be the only things keeping them alive.

"I guess that's it then," San said as he looked at his digital watch. "1: 54, we should be heading back now." As the squirrels rose to their feet a deadly silence filled the air. The ugly truth was apparent now, they may never see each other alive again. "Thanks Axel," Kaila whispered as the two rose to their feet. "Thanks for what?" Axel replied quietly.

"For, you know, not shutting me out, just being there to talk. That's all."

"Right,"

Kaila wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Although taken by surprise, Axel allowed her to hug him. At first his arms rested lifelessly by his sides as he didn't really know what he should do, but then he slowly lifted them and wrapped his arms around her as well. His face was completely expressionless as he stared into thin air. A nervous feeling churned inside of him almost to the point of making him sick. But for the moment that feeling left him as Kaila released her embrace. 

"Axel," a voice to his left called. He looked over just in time to see Pretz approach him and hug him as well. He hugged her back as well, though this time he lacked the hesitation he had with Kaila. "I'm gonna really miss you." She whispered with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Yeah, me too." Axel replied. As they slipped out of each other's embrace, Axel took his sketchbook in hand and opened it. "This is for you," he mumbled as he tore out a page. Pretz gently took the page from him and smiled when she looked upon it. "Sorry about it's lacking color," Axel said. Pretz shook her head in response. "It's fine, I love it. You have a great imagination." 

The picture featured a small mountain village surrounded by hills. Above the town was a beautiful full moon surrounded by stars in the clear midnight sky. Above the moon was a menacing figure constructed of bones and fire. A large flaming skull stood above the moon, it's evil eyes shining down from it's position in the sky, it's jaws open as it is mere seconds away from clamping down on the moon and devouring it. At the very bottom to the left-hand side Axel had placed his artist signature.

"Glad you like it," Axel said quietly. Kaila gently poked him in the ribs. "You never drew me anything." She said mockingly offended with a wink at the end of her sentence. "We'd better get going," Pretz said with her eyes still on the picture. Riley came up to her and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. He then brought his hand to her chin and turned her head towards him. He gently leaned in and invited her to kiss him. Their lips met, then stayed, and slowly pulled away. "Bye Axel," Pretz said as she quickly glanced back at him. She then slowly turned to catch up with the other girls. She was a bit reluctant to leave, but she started on her way.

Kaila began to go on her way as well when she suddenly stopped in front of Axel. She turned to face him with her fun-loving smirk on her face. "Scantly clad hotty. That's Axel talk right there. That's your own special style and don't forget it." She abruptly ended her speech with a gently slap on his right cheek. However her paw never left his face. As her hand stuck to his cheek as if it were glued, the smirk melted off of her face. Axel had on his own saddened expression which showed a slice of concern as Kaila now looked as if she might cry. She looked to the ground and closed her eyes. She mustered a sad smile as she reopened her eyes and met his gaze. "Good bye," she whispered. 

Axel lifted his hand to hers and gently peeled it off of his face. He gripped her hand snuggly, but he was more than ready to let go. He was starting to feel uncomfortable again and this was hard enough already. "Just go. Everything will be fine." He whispered to her as his grip on her hand loosened. Kaila slowly nodded and allowed her hand to fall to her side when Axel let go. Without another word, she turned around and slowly walked away. Pretz had been waiting for her at the edge of the hill. When she reached her friend, Kaila gave Pretz a quick nod and the two proceeded down the hill and vanished from sight. 

Then there was silence. Axel stared at the spot where Kaila and Pretz had been not to long ago. It felt weird. That spot now empty was once where they stood. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to stop looking. He felt a friendly paw on his shoulder but still refused to turn his gaze. "Don't worry, you'll find another one." Riley said. "I don't really want to, I'm not ready." Axel said quietly. Riley shook his head and put his arm around his shoulders. He pulled him a bit to the left to get him to move and Axel's feet quickly shifted to keep him from falling. "You just need time, that's all. You'll find some one else." Axel remained silent and started at the ground as the walked. There was a sad look in his eyes, not just from the previous parting. He didn't like the thought of finding someone to replace Sarah. She was irreplaceable. "Sarah'd want you to be happy, you know that. If you were the one to die wouldn't you want her to move on? She doesn't want to see you be miserable and lonely for the rest of your life you know." Axel bit his lip in response to that and sighed heavily. "I know, I just……I'm just not ready."

"I understand."

A/N: I have no idea how graduation is supposed to go. The only clue I have is from what I saw in Full Metal Jacket, but I'm not gonna go by the movie. I'm just gonna make stuff up, it's my fic after all. So odds are I'm going to get a million things wrong, but oh well. On with the story…

Axel opened his eyes the next morning to the usual wake up call. However, Ancon wasn't cussing them out like he usually was. He seemed to be in a good mood. He sounded, dare one say, remotely nice. "Hurry up boys. We haven't got all day!" he yelled into the bunk. "Get dressed and make those beds pronto!" With that said and everyone out of bed, he slammed the door shut, however it wasn't nearly as violent as it had been for the past few months. "What happened?" San said groggily as he scratched the back of his head. "Ancon was is a good mood, sort of, something's up." Hunter replied as he straightened out his bed sheets. "Probably just glad to be rid of us," San said. 

Axel finished making his bed, getting dressed and lacing up his boots. Something was giving him extra energy that morning. He did have a bit of anxiety that morning what with graduation and being sent to the battlefield. When he was nervous or had any type of adrenaline running through his blood he tended to move faster, however this was usually accompanied with minor clumsiness and he hadn't dropped a thing. It wasn't his anxiousness. '_Sarah'd want you to be happy_,' Riley's voice from last night suddenly invaded his mind. "She would, wouldn't she?" he mumbled quietly. '_If you were the one to die, wouldn't you want her to move on?_' That's when the thought occurred to him. "Am I ready? It's been a few months but," Axel ended his thought with a sigh. This was not something he wanted to think about at the moment.

After all morning duties were taken care of, the entire army of young recruits were lead out over the training field and into a huge lot. In the middle of the lot there was a rather large stage. The recruits were divided up by their platoons and sent to specifically marked areas on the lot. When the recruits were situated in their proper places, the ceremony began. 

Ten Squirrel High Command officials including Sergeant Rico and a few of the Drill Instructors walked on stage in an orderly fashion. They each took a seat and the SHC top-ranking General, General Surge, walked out to the podium. He brought his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. He then placed both hands on the podium top as he prepared to address the combat-ready youths before him.

"Today you are soldiers. Soldiers of our country and soldiers of our freedom. Several young men such as yourselves have already fought and given their lives for our battle for freedom. When you fight, you will be fighting to honor them and this great land of ours. You will carry the honor and courage of the soldiers who came before you and those yet to come with you to the battlefield. If you fight with your honor and courage in your souls, whether you perish or survive, you will not lose. Always carry the memory of your brothers in arms who are fighting and giving their lives as we speak on the battlefront. Carry their memory in your minds and contain their strength in your souls. Our victory and survival depends on it, and it depends on the will of your heart and the heart of your souls. To souls and soldier squirrels!"

To be continued……

LOL! That speech turned out way better than I thought it would! Now our heroes move to the battlefield! Who will survive? LOL, I sound like the announcer guy for Mobile Suit Gundam. ::sweatdrop::

Before we end this chapter, a few more things. First of all, I hope I didn't offend any homosexuals with the gay thing earlier. I respect gay people just as I would straight people. And for those of you who don't get the bloody nose thing (when Kaila gave Axel that wonderful b-day surprise LOL) that's sort of an anime reference. Sometimes when a guy sees a girl's 'naughty parts' his nose bleeds a bit…..or it gushes. Either way it's funny. The sweatdrops are an anime reference too. When a character is embarrassed (either for themselves or someone else) a large sweatdrop appears on their heads. So if you're wondering what the deal was with the "Axel sweatdropped and sighed," stuff, now you know. 


	7. Ground Sweep!

A/N: This is where it gets bloody and gory

A/N: This is where it gets bloody and gory. Just to warn you, when I'm in the mood I can get VERY descriptive when it comes to gore. Don't like? Don't read.

Axel gripped his rifle tightly as the truck hit just about every bump in the road. Sleep had not come easily for him, or any of the other soldiers for that matter. Now he found himself in the back of a cold damp truck with ten other guys heading for their first battle. Everyone was nervous, to say the least. It was obvious that they were all scared, even though some guys tried to cover it up with arrogant talk about how many Tediz they would kill and things along those lines. The look of fear was present in their eyes. Axel was especially nervous being around so many guys he didn't know. San, Hunter, Blaine, and Razor were on different trucks, but at least Riley was there and Jones was not.

"You okay? You look kinda sick." Riley whispered to Axel. He let out a broken sigh and turned to his friend. "It's nothing. Just scared I guess," he replied quietly. Riley nodded and looked around at the other guys. "They don't honestly think one guy can kill fifty Tediz by himself. Talk to cover up their fear I guess."

"Whatever works for 'em,"

"Hey you! The quiet one!"

Axel looked up. "You talkin' to me?" One of the slightly older looking guys on the other side of the truck smirked. "No, the skinny nervous guy behind you. Well, how about it?" Axel raised his eyebrow at the other. "What are you talking about?"

"A girl. You gotta chick back home?"

"That's none of your damn business!" Riley said immediately.

"Was I talking to you dickhead?"

"Don't call my friend a dickhead you fucking asshole!"

"What the hell is your problem? I was just asking if you had a chick back home! No need to shit a brick."

"Well, it's not any of your business," Axel said quietly, turning his gaze from the others and gritting his teeth. Riley placed his hand on Axel's shoulder. The other squirrels looked at each other, then looked back at Axel and Riley. "Are you guys together?"

"No!" Riley and Axel said in unison.

The other squirrel put his paws in the air. "Okay, don't bite my head off over here! Just trying to make friendly conversation, but it would help if _some_ guys around here were a bit more friendly." Axel and Riley looked at each other, then looked away. They realized that they were being some what of a couple of assholes, but they had just cause. Axel was angry enough being shoved into the back of a truck and the guy sitting next to him was making him nervous. "I hate it when people sit too close to me," he mumbled as he glared into the air. 

"Do you have a problem, kid?" the squirrel from before said. "Yes I do have a problem!" Axel practically shouted. Axel had grabbed everyone's attention at that time and was somewhat patronized by the stares, but his anger overthrew all shyness. "You don't need to take your pissy attitude out on me you know! Just what is your problem anyway?" 

"Everything! Just leave me alone, okay?"

"All right. Fine." The other squirrel shook his head then mumbled to himself. "What an asshole." Axel leered at the other guy, who in turned leered back. "You are being a bit of a bitch, kid."

"Don't piss him off," one of his friends whispered. "Remember, he kicked that one guy's ass."

"That one guy was just some rich pussy. I could take this rubber chicken."

"Is that a challenge?" Axel said.

"Knock it off you guys!" someone from the corner said. "Have you forgotten that we're in the middle of a war here? The last thing we need is you guys getting pissed at each other right before a battle. Who knows, you two may need to watch each other's backs in a bit here."

Axel's anger slipped a bit as fear and anxiety slipped back into this body. For a while he had completely forgotten where he was. He was being sort of an asshole and he didn't mean to, but that guy was right. He looked at the other squirrel. He was still pissed, that was obvious, but some of the anger had slipped from his expression as well. "This is my fault," Axel said suddenly. "I'm sorry." The other squirrel looked at him slightly puzzled, but he did have to agree. "Um, I forgive you I guess, but I'm still kinda mad at you."

"Same here," Axel said, letting his anger get the best of him once again, then he immediately let it go again. "I'm not here to make enemies, I just…well," He gulped. The attention was still on him and with his anger slipping away his shyness came back. "I have…well…..my girlfriend," He stopped right there. He didn't want to tell them about Sarah's death, he just wanted to move on. He was just about ready to, but it still hurt him just as much. "What?" the other squirrel said. Axel turned his gaze away from everyone. "I don't wanna talk about it. I just want to be left alone," The other squirrels looked at each other and decided to just let the topic drop. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

When the trucks had arrived a few miles away from the actual battlegrounds, the soldiers were herded off the trucks and into separate groups for briefing. Sergeant Rico stood before a group of twenty soldiers, each standing straight with their hands behind their backs. They stared forward with expressionless faces as they awaited his command. "Attention men!" The soldiers brought their feet closer together and placed their arms at their sides in perfect unison. "This is going to be your first ground sweep. As far as we can tell, those Tediz bastards don't know we're here yet. So let's get this over with as soon as possible before they catch on. As a group, you are to quietly move towards their base in the cliff. There will not be much cover out there, so silence is essential. When you have found some form of cover, stay there and remain motionless until it is safe to continue. Locate another cover point before you move out again. When you see one, swiftly but silently head out. This is a team effort so do not leave anyone behind. If you are spotted and/or fired upon, scatter to whatever form of safety is closest to you. The Tediz do not have any good sniping points in this area and have no turret guns, so do not return fire until you have made visual contact with the enemy. If you are being overwhelmed, retreat immediately. Any questions? All right. Move out boys!"

Axel crouched on the ground with his right knee in the soil and his left toes supporting him. The group leader, Rin, gave the signal to stop. Hunter was behind Rin and Riley was off to the side. The others were in different groups. Rin peek around the small hill which supplied shelter for the moment. The rest of the soldiers remained completely motionless. The only way one could tell them apart from statues was the small movements of their chests as they breathed. Even their eyes stopped blinking for that moment. While some might find it impossible to achieve this level of lifelessness, for a squirrel it was no sweat. That was one advantage they had over the Tediz. Squirrels, being wild animals, had instincts which helped them determine when danger was coming and what the proper course of action was. Tediz, on the other hand, were just biomechanical tools of destruction and had no natural instincts what so ever.

Rin turned back to his group and signaled that it was safe to move out. The soldiers rose from their positions. They followed Rin to the next safety point, quietly trotting along the way. Rin once again gave the signal to stop once all his teammates had made it to the shelter. They each dropped to the ground the second Rin's fist was seen in the air and stood just as motionless as before until it was time to move on again. 

Axel's ears perked up from underneath his helmet. The sound of distant footsteps in the carpet of tiny rocks that covered the ground flowed in his direction. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to Riley. "No, what are you talking about?" Riley replied.

"Shut up back there!" Rin snapped. He glared at the two noisemakers then looked at a nearby soldier. "Cid, go look to see if it's clear." Cid, a chocolate brown squirrel, nodded and slowly crept to the edge of the hill that was currently serving as their cover. Rin made his way to the middle of the line where Axel, Riley, and Hunter were. "You heard something?" Rin whispered. Axel nodded in reply. "Footsteps from the west. Sounded like there were five of 'em."

"Five?" Rin replied with a thoughtful look. His eyes pointed skyward as he thought, then his eyes grew large as a realization hit him. "Cid! Don't look!" he whispered as loudly as he could.

However, it was not loud enough and a little late at that. Cid had already poked his head around the corner of the hill and was scanning the landscape. "Looks clear," he said. Famous last words. The sound of a bullet screaming through the air caused the other soldiers to drop to their bellies and cover their heads. The bullet had made a direct hit between Cid's eyes and exited through the back of his head. Pieces of brain followed the bullet out of his head as well as a heavy stream of blood. Parts of his skull had been broken off and splattered here and there as blood splashed from his open head. His helmet came flying off and landed upside down on the ground with small brain parts and a puddle of blood inside. A stream of drool and warm blood leaked from the corner of Cid's mouth as his lifeless body crashed to the ground.

"This is 025 team leader! We have just been fired upon! Repeat! We have just been fired upon! Do not leave your cover stations!" Rin yelled into the radio. His voice carried with it a heavy sense of fear and horror. This was felt by the others who had just watched one of their own be brutally killed in such a gory way. Axel gulped as he held his M-16 with shaking hands. The footsteps he had heard earlier were now running and by the sound of it, there were a lot more than five. "All right guys! Don't fire till ya see 'em with your own eyes!" Rin spoke loudly and bravely to try to ease his fellow soldiers. "Set up a protective formation. Make sure they don't take us by surprise!" 

In response, the other squirrels formed a C shape from behind the hill. Those on the sides faced the edges of the hill where the Tediz may appear, meanwhile those in the middle stood ready incase the Tediz should go over the hill. Axel took in a large breath through his mouth. This was it. He was not going to run away now. Those Tediz had killed Sarah along with a lot of innocent men, women, and children. He hands wrapped around the rifle more firmly than before. He was ready. Ready to face the enemy. His eyes narrowed as he watched the top of the hill, waiting for those bastards to poke their plush heads over. The moment he had been training for had arrived. He _was_ ready.

Two brown ears appeared. Then two black eyes. Then an evil stitched grin. There he was. The first Tedi Axel had ever really seen. There had been some scrambled footage of the Tediz in the news, but it was in such poor condition that it was hard to see their actual feature from brown blobs. But there he was, plain as day. A Tedi. An evil tool of death and destruction.

Axel lifted his rifle and pulled the trigger with out a second thought or any hesitation. As the Tedi steadied his own rifle to shoot back at Axel, the bullet made contact with the side of his head. A huge chunk of his head, including the right ear, was blown off. Stuffing shot out of the Tedi's head as well as some sort of strange yellow liquid. It was certainly not what he was expecting, but he didn't ponder what Tediz were made out of for too long. 

The whole scene had gone by as if it were in slow motion. His first kill. Axel could've sworn he saw the bullet as it made contact with it's target. However, just as the Tedi dropped dead to the ground, more Tediz appeared and the speed returned to normal. The sounds that had been blotted out now struck his ears fiercely. Bullets were being fired all around him and both yellow and red blood stained the dirt. Axel took a step back as he continued firing. The bullets were spewed from the mouth of his rifle as he, Riley, Rin and Hunter took out the Tediz as they appeared. It seemed that they were at an advantage and the hill was littered with the bodies of the mechanical plushes.

Out of the corners of his eyes, Axel saw a wall of brown figures appear from behind the hill. Screams from his fellow soldiers filled the air with abrupt power. Quickly glancing left and right he saw that the Tediz had given up trying to climb over the hill and rushed both sides in great numbers. Riley shifted his feet suddenly when he felt warm blood splatter on his uniform and bullets whizzing past his body. "Retreat!" Rin commanded when he too noticed the turn of the tables.

Without a second thought, the soldiers turned and sprinted towards shelter and their fellow soldiers. A few stayed behind and tried to take out as many Tediz as they could before retreating. Axel glanced over his shoulder to see those brave souls who chose to give their friends a chance to get away. There were only five of them and they were getting mutilated despite their valiant efforts. They each took out a fair number of Tediz before a bullet slung through their chest. They screamed as blood gushed from their veins and hot pain shot their nerves. Each one unconsciously threw his arms in the air as he fell backwards, still taking bullets in the legs and shoulders. Even as they fell to the ground completely immobilized, those Tediz blasted their heads clear of their shoulders for good measure and probably for fun as well. The sight made Axel's blood boil and terrified him at the same time. Those Tediz were more cold-blooded than he could've imagined.

With his heart rapidly beating in his rib cage, Axel and the others ran towards their only current source of relief. The other teams were coming to their rescue now and were returning fire. With bullets whizzing past them in both directions, the team eagerly picked up the pace to get to safety. Rin spotted a small hill that one of the other teams was using as a shield. He signaled to what was left of his own team and they quickly dove behind it and to safety. "Glad you made it," Axel, Riley and Hunter heard once they hit the dirt. Axel pushed himself off the ground and lifted his head to view the speaker. A grin forced it's way on his face. "San! Am I glad to see you."

"I second that," Riley said. The trio got to their feet and took their places behind the hill. Hunter quickly reloaded his rifle and stood near the edge of the hill. Axel wiped the sweat off his forehead and reloaded his weapon was well. He took a deep breath and was obviously a bit hesitant about jumping into the fray again. Riley shook his head as if to rid his mind of all fear.

There was a splattering sound from above and blood rained onto both their helmets. Right between them the body of another soldier fell to the ground. He had been shot in the neck and blood gushed from his injured jugular. Axel and Riley exchanged a fearful glance. They looked back at the body then at each other. Riley paused for a moment, then nodded to Axel. Axel nodded back and they both inched closer to the hill. Axel exhaled quickly as he stood next to Hunter. Hunter had peeked over the edge of the hill and was firing at the enemy. Axel took one more deep breath before he peeked over the hill as well. 

It was a rather hectic sight with the Tediz using the hills as their own shelters or charging at the squirrels. Axel was stripped of all rational thought and fired blindly into the line of approaching Tediz before ducking back behind the hill. Whether he hit anything or not, he didn't know. He leaned up against the hill and took rapid breaths. He was scared out of his mind. That line of charging Tediz was closer than he would've liked at the moment. Even though they had no protection and could easily be picked off, the Tediz charged with no fear at all. That was one advantage the Tediz had over the squirrels. They had no fear. They weren't living creatures and therefore could be programmed to have no fear and think rationally at all times. It didn't look good. _But if they can think rationally,_ Axel thought for a moment. They were leaving themselves completely open and their only line of defense were the other Tediz from behind the hills. Now was their chance. "Be brave, be brave," Axel whispered to himself. 

Axel turned to the hill and prepared to return fire once again. He forced his mind to become more focussed despite how terrified he was. He peeked over the hill with his rifle ready. The assault line was even closer, but Axel held his focus. He got his target in his sights and squeezed the trigger. A bit of satisfaction hit him when he saw another Tedi's head go to pieces. A few bullets hit the dirt near where he stood and caused him to take shelter behind the hill once more. "They're closin' in!" he heard someone say. 

As if on cue, a couple of Tediz popped over the hill. "Look out!" Startled yells alerted Axel to this as he glanced over his shoulder. The two Tediz stared down at him and the others with their rifles ready and their lifeless eyes leering at them. He quickly turned and backed up to avoid the bullets that rained at his feet. His surprise had temporarily paralyzed him from attacking and his only defense were feeble evasive actions which, for the moment, did keep him from getting shot. A bullet flew into the chest of one of the Tediz and sent him toppling into the other. As the two fell to the ground, the unharmed one was shot square in the head and scattered the ground with his 'brains'.

Axel paused for a moment to catch his breath. He looked to his left and saw Riley holding his M-16 in a firing position. There was a small line of dust flowing from the mouth of the firearm, suggesting that he was the one who shot those Tediz and rescued him. "Thanks," Axel gasped as he tried to get his breathing back into a regular pattern. Riley smiled lightly a nodded. Axel moved closer to the protection of the hill and quickly peeked over it. He caught a glimpse of the Tediz using the hill they were just at as a shield. He fired a few shots at the brown figures peeking behind the hill before retreating ducking to safety. This time he wasn't sure if he hit anything. Fear can gum up one's accuracy a bit.

There was a standoff between the squirrels and Tediz. Each side seemed to match the other and neither was about to budge. For the next four hours the two sides exchanged fire. It didn't look as though there was any end of the battle in sight. "Make your shots count guys, we're runnin' low on ammo." Rin reported to his team after receiving some sort of message on the radio. "They've gotta show themselves sooner or later." Riley said. He and San sat in the dirt with their backs against the hill. The ammo problem had forced half the team to discontinue firing until the enemy exposed themselves. The better marksmen of the team, including Axel and Hunter, continued firing at the enemy to keep their numbers as small as possible. Axel ducked behind the hill again and reloaded his weapon with shaking paws. He wiped his forehead and rubbed his eyes. "This is too much," he mumbled.

"I heard that back up was on its way." San said. "Hang in there man."

Axel stared at the dirt as he tried to rest his eyes a bit. The strain of accurately locating and hitting the enemy was making his head hurt. Not only that, but he was running low on energy. "Back up's coming you said?" Axel asked, looking at his wristwatch. "Yeah, 14:00 hours." San replied. It was 1:40, not too long from then, but waiting for back up was still going to be a bitch. "We have a problem!" another squirrel said before ducking behind the hill. "What the.." Rin was interrupted by a signal from his radio. "025! The enemy is charging!" 

"Holy shit!"

Hunter backed from the hill and joined the others. Axel had already backed out considerably and saw a wall of brown heading over the hills and towards them in incredible numbers. It appeared as though the Tediz reinforcements had arrived before their own. "Retreat!" Rin yelled as he ushered his teammates to their feet. The less accurate half of the team loaded their last clips and headed out. 

The remaining team of squirrels ran out as if one of their natural predators was after them. As the Tediz crossed the hill, hot lead rained down on them. Every now and then they looked over their shoulders and returned fire. "Take 'em out!" Axel stole a quick look over his shoulder and turned his body slightly. He gritted his teeth as he sent several bullets flying the enemy's way. After seeing a few Tediz trip as a result of injury, Axel turned around once more and quickened his pace. "These guys are faster than they look!" Riley said as he returned fire of his own. _Just keep running, don't look back._ Axel repeated to himself. The bullets were flying past him at a dangerously close accuracy. _You can make it, just don't stop running._

A gasping cry jarred him from his thoughts as he quickly looked to his right. San was limping a bit now as he tried to keep up with the others. He held his paw to his arm and he gritted his teeth and tried to swallow the pain. He'd taken a shot in the arm. "San!" Axel cried before he even knew he was speaking. He quickly ran to his friend's side and put his arm around him for support. "Somebody help me!" He yelled as he got San back to his feet. Riley and Hunter answered his call and ran over to cover them from enemy fire. Axel and San made their way back up the line with Riley and Hunter trailing behind. "I'm okay. I'm okay, I can make it." San said as he rejected Axel's help. "We gotta get the others outta here now!" 

"We can't save all of 'em!" Axel said. 

"We can't leave 'em here either. Save who you can, get the others to help! We need to keep as many guys alive as we can. Stop looking at me! Do something!"

Axel was a bit surprised by San's outburst, but he was in total agreement. He quickly nodded and dashed up ahead. San and the others trotted behind as they continued to return fire. Scanning the battlefield left and right, it wasn't difficult for Axel to spot soldiers lying on the ground either dead or doomed. It made him sick. It was a horrible sight for anyone. _This is bad, they're merciless! _Out of the corner of his eye he saw another fellow soldier go down. His legs just seemed to give out underneath him as he let out a yell of pain. "No, not again!" Axel could already vision a bullet flying through the injured squirrel's head and busting it open. He couldn't let that happen again. 

He took a sharp right and dashed to the soldier's side. Bullets were hitting the dirt around him suggesting they were trying to take him out. "Riley, somebody! Cover this guy!" Axel yelled in backup's general direction. Riley took a quick look over his shoulder and saw the injured soldier being targeted and completely helpless at that. "Help me out, guys!" Axel made it to the others soldier's side and helped him to his feet. "Don't worry, you're gonna be fine," Axel said as he allowed the soldier to support his weight on him. The other soldier shook his head and gasped for air. "I can't. I'm not gonna make it." He said as his grip on his injured leg tightened. "You will, just trust me." Axel looked behind him. "Hey guys! Help me get 'im outta here!"

Riley and co replied to Axel's call swiftly. Hunter helped Axel carry the injured solider to safety while San fired at the pursuing enemy. Riley cleared the way for the others. Despite their progress it was obvious that the approaching Tediz would soon catch up to them. "Let me die, I'm slowing you." The injured soldier mumbled. He had become very weak from the bloodloss and it looked as though trying to save him would only cost the others their lives. "That's not going to happen." Hunter said as he and Axel quickened the pace. "Did you hear that?" Axel said again as he lifted his head. "I didn't hear anything." Riley said. 

"It sounds like a stampede..or trucks…and…something's coming."

The group decided to put Axel's announcement aside for the moment and try to get out of there alive. However, Axel's hearing was accurate and the sound of stampeding feet soon reached their ears as well. "That doesn't sound good," Hunter said distressed. Fortunately, the sound was not one to be alarmed at, if you were a squirrel that is. 

The cause of the noise was soon identified as a large number of squirrel soldiers appeared over the hill and rushed at the assaulting Tediz with their rifles firmly in their hands. "Thank God," Hunter sighed. San threw him a disapproving look, but with his face slightly contorted with pain it went unnoticed. The reinforcements ran past them and strongly into the battle fray. With a new hope of survival, the group made their way up the battlefield and to safety. As they reached the end of the field, soldiers with red crosses on their helmets and first-aid kits in their hands ran towards them. As they examined San and the soldier, the others hid behind the safety of the cliffs as the battle raged on. This time victory favored the squirrels. 

"We made it," Riley suddenly said. There was a hint of astonishment in his voice, which spread to Hunter and Axel. They hadn't really realized what was going on yet. It was if their fear had made them numb to reality, but it was slowly coming to them. "We made it." Hunter repeated. Shaking his head, Axel looked at his paws as if to check if this was a dream. _We made it?_ He looked at the sky, then at his surroundings. 

Shouts spread from the battlefield. Squirrels made their voices heard as they charged that remainder of the Tediz and charged their fortress. "They're fallin' back! Don't let 'em get away!" a distant voice shouted. _We won?_ Axel rested the back of his head on the cliff and breathed heavily. "We made it."

The rest of the day at the camp went by rather silently. The squirrels had won that battle and taken the fortress, but that was more of a confidence victory rather than a major military one. Even so, no one really felt like celebrating. This feeling was heavy over Axel and co. Blaine was gone, killed in action, and Razor was missing. Blaine was an awkward kind of guy and Razor never spoke up, but it wasn't the same with out them around. 

San had had his arm checked out, treated and was rewarded with a Purple Heart. The others just stood in silence as the Sergeant stood in front of them. The whole company stood in line as the sun began to set. Before them were several pairs of empty combat boots and M-16 sticking in the dirt and a helmet hanging on each of them to represent the soldiers that had lost their lives in that battle. It was such a small battle, but the impact was tremendous. Each soldier cast his eyes downward in a moment of silence as the trumpet played in the background. 

Heavy hearts filled the atmosphere as Sergeant Rico stepped forward. It was hard to see young men witness the horrors of war and such casualties first hand. There wasn't anything anyone could do to heal them, but after each battle Rico always tried his best to ease his soldiers of the pain a bit. The moment was like a large open wound that bled heavily on the squirrels. The silence of the aftermath was more deafening than the sound of bullets during the actual battle. "Over the years I have lost several soldiers. More than you would ever believe. But I never felt such a loss as I have today." Sergeant Rico paused for a second. These speeches were never easy to deliver and it was hard to know what the right thing to say was. "It's a tragedy that such fine young men have lost their lives while in their prime. It is also a tragedy that you all had witnessed such horror first hand. This day will stick with you for the rest of your lives. However, all we can do is move forward. This pain and emptiness that you are all feeling will not fade. Hopefully we can put an end to this terror as soon as possible. Now I ask that you all join me in a moment of silence to remember these brave souls that lost their lives today."

Axel gulped silently as he peered into the dirt. He had not seen Blaine get killed, but he felt as though he might have well. The image of Cid getting his head blown apart invaded his mind and made him shudder. He tried to avoid picturing Blaine in that scenario, but his mind created the image and showed him anyway. He felt like he would be sick. He heard San silently whisper words of pray beside him. He had no idea San was so religious, he certainly didn't seem like the type. He remembered San telling him he had a band called Black Angel. That seemed sort of weird considering how dedicated he was to his religion, but San said that it was religiously symbolic. Axel didn't understand any of it, he was an atheist, but he didn't hold anything against San and San didn't hold anything against him. To each his own.

"At this time, I would like to honor those of you who courageously put your safety aside to aid your fellow Brothers in Arms." Sergeant Rico said, willing all the soldiers to give him their undivided attention. Axel remained staring straight at the sky as the Sergeant continued his speech in the background, until his ears picked up his name. "Robers, Caiton, Rishad and Fursparks. Come over here, boys." Axel shot San a confused look and San just shrugged. As confused as they were, they obeyed and stepped forward. "If it weren't for the four of you, we'd have one more casualty here. You boys risked your lives to help out a fellow soldier in need. An act of bravery like that will not go unrewarded." 

The guys stood there in a line, still unsure of what would happen, when Sgt. Rico withdrew something. Walking to each of them one by one, he pinned a metal on each of their uniforms. A Silver Star, a symbol of courage and selflessness. The last thing any of them expected was to earn a metal after their first battle, but they all agreed that they had earned it. No one could blame them at least. 

Axel sat on the bed of his bunk that night in total silence. The metal he had earned hung proudly from his chest and shined as the electric light reflected off of it. These bunks were a bit bigger and Riley, San, Hunter, Rin and some guy by the name of Chitter shared this bunk with him. "You guys were amazing. Didn't think you had it in ya." Rin said to the four Silver Star bearers. He vaguely heard the others reply to this, but he was just too tired to make out what they were saying or to put in a comment of his own. He was just glad to still be alive after that. He gently slipped his uniform off and pulled his white wife-beater over his head. "You goin' to bed?" he heard Riley say.

"Yeah, I'm tired as hell."

"Me too, night guys."

Axel heard the others getting ready for bed as well as he slipped under the blanket. He pulled the protective fabric up to his shoulder and rested his head on the pillow. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and today really took it out of him. He closed his tired eyes and awaited sleep to claim him. The whole while the same thought ran through his mind. He was alive, somehow he made it, but could he survive the next battle?

His feet pounded on the ground as he tried to outrun the darkness that was closing in. The shadow monster, although looked sluggish what with his tremendous size, was fast and closing in. Axel looked over his shoulder as this cloudy demon pursued him and his fellow soldiers. His dark blood red eye had no distinct pupils, but one could almost see his eyes scanning over the frantic army of squirrels he chased. His mouth was only marked by perfectly white fangs, petruding from invisible lips. His sinister laugh shook the ground as he lifted his arm into the air again. Dark claws shot out of his fingers as he held his hand high. 

The soldiers tried to fight back with their M-16s, but the bullets had no effect. The monster smirked as he swung his hand down. Screams filled the air as several soldiers were impaled and cut in half. Axel shuddered as a shower of blood and guts rained down on him again. Limbs, intestines, livers and other such body parts were sent flying through the air. Axel ran faster as the monster laughed at his latest kill. However, he was stopped in his tracks when the body of a soldier fell right in front of him, his insides on the outside. Axel gulped and backed away from the body. His rifle slipped from his fingers and he stood absolutely paralyzed. His eyes unwillingly stayed on the squirrel's body as if they were glued to the image. His mind willed for his legs to move, but he was frozen. 

He began shaking violently as he felt a freezing cold mist hit the back of his neck. His fur stood on end as he was finally able to move again. His feet were still stuck to the ground, but he was able to move his upper body as he looked over his shoulder. The red eyes were right above him. So were the white fangs and the clawed hand. The hand rose high into the air above him and those same claws shot from the monster's fingertips. "No," Axel said with a shaking voice. He tried one last time to free his feet from the ground. No luck. His eyes widened and he watched in horror as the claws, stained with blood and guts, cut through the air and straight at him. His throat made indistinguishable noises as his bottom lip quivered. Finally, his lungs forced a violently loud scream out of his mouth as the hand continued to drop.

Axel let out a small moan as he felt someone's hands on his shoulders and gently shaking him. His eyes shot open and his lungs gulped for air in quick gasps. Whoever had a grip on his shoulders let go and stepped back. Axel sat up and looked around. "You all right?" Riley said. Axel took another breath of air and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Yeah, no problem." 

"You really ought to see a doctor or something about all these nightmares you've been having."

Axel shook his head. "It's not that bad." Riley gave him one of 'those looks' and sighed. "It's not healthy nor is it normal for someone to have so many nightmares night after night. You need help." Axel looked at him and blinked. "What's so unhealthy about it?"

Riley shook his head. "You've been having bad dreams for eleven years, but you never used to have them every night. It's only going to get worse if you don't do something." Axel gave him a stern and stubborn look. "I don't have them every night!"

"Well, it's getting there."

Axel looked at the wall and refused to make eye contact with his friend. "Sorry I woke you up."

"You didn't wake me up. I just woke up for some reason, then I heard you mumbling in your sleep."

"Mm..right, well…"

"You think you can get back to sleep?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"All right then. Night."

"Night."

To Be Continued…..

Yeah, that was gorier than I intended it to be. So..yeah. Please review!

__


	8. Hunger

A/N: In this fic, the Tediz are VERY evil. Probably more evil than Rare intended to make them. There is a rape scene in this story that may disturb some readers. It's not all that detailed, but I suggest discretion be used from this chapter on. As I said before, the Tediz are really evil in this fic.

Riley's eyes blinked open as the early morning sun sneaked into the bunk and poured over his pillow. "Damn sun," he mumbled as he pulled the blanket over his head. He knew the wake up call would be coming soon, but he wanted to get as much sleep in as possible. However, he just couldn't get back to sleep and knowing he was going to have to get up soon took all the fun and enjoyment out of it. Sighing, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He felt a small rumble in his stomach and shuddered at the thought of what they'd be served for breakfast. The food out there made the boot camp food seem like an expensive gourmet.

He swung his feet over the side of the bed and stretched his arms and tail. After letting out a small yawn, he looked around. The first thing that caught his eye was Axel's sleeping form. He had his arms stretched out, the blanket kicked half way off the bed, and was snoring rather loudly, but compared to earlier that night he was sleeping as peacefully as a baby. Riley couldn't help but be somewhat amused by the repulsive sight of Axel's drool soaking the pillow.

Riley slid off the bed and set his feet on the floor. _Wake up call should be comin' on any minute, might as well get dressed._ As if on cue, a loud noise blared from the Station's PA system, instructing all soldiers to get up. Axel's ears twitched as the alarm traveled through the air. He twitched his nose and smacked his tongue to the roof of his mouth as he rolled over. He really didn't feel like getting up that day. Riley pulled his shirt over his head and gave his buddy an awkward glance. "Come on, lazy. Get up." He said as he grabbed his pillow and brandished it in the air. Axel paid Riley's warning no caution and tried once again to get back to sleep. That's when he felt a very large cushion hit him in the back of the head. "Get up, dammit. I don't wanna get the cold shit for breakfast just because you're being lazy."

"Does it really matter? It all tastes like shit." Axel said with his face still down in his pillow. Riley raised his pillow again and struck harder. "You don't want to be yelled at, do you? You're gonna have to get up eventually." Axel lifted his face from his pillow and supported his weight on his elbows. He blinked his watery blood shot eyes and yawned as he scratched his head. "Why are you so chipper this morning anyway?"

"I'm not chipper. I'm just not a total grouch like you are every morning."

"I'm not a grouch," Axel said as he sat on the side of his bed. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

By this time, Riley was completely dressed and was fixing his bed as the others were getting up as well. He looked over his shoulder at Axel. "More nightmares?" he said quietly. Axel shook his head. "Just had trouble getting back to sleep. Guess it really did get to me." Axel slid of the bed and began getting dressed as well. "How's your arm, San?" he said as he slipped his pants on. San was obviously in pain as he tried to get his combat boots on. "It's fine, just a little sore." He sat up and put the rest of his uniform on as did the others. Axel finished making his bed and ran his fingers through his hair-like tuffs of fur on his head. "Did they say we were getting mail today?"

"Yeah, after breakfast or this afternoon." Riley replied as he straightened out his bed sheets. All the others had finished dressing and quickly made their beds. Axel wiped away the tears from his eyes and scratched his head. He was still tired from the battle the day before and his dreams weren't doing much to help him reach the minimal sleep requirement. Axel turned heal and followed the others who were piling out of the bunk.

Axel looked down at the food on his tray and shoved it around his plate with his fork. This stuff tasted just like the kind of canned meals he had as a kid. What with his father's nasty drinking habits and his mother trying her best to earn a living, they didn't have very much money on them. It was either eat slimy canned meat-like products that tasted like dirt, or eat nothing at all. Of course, it was always him and his mother that had to eat that Godawful crap while his 'father' took whatever money he could find on his mother and spent it on beer and decent meals for himself. _Bastard!_ Axel suddenly thought in rage. The taste of that food brought back all sorts of unpleasant memories. The drinking, the abuse, the day he left with that slut, and his poor mother fell to her knees bruised and heart broken. Axel had watched helplessly as she cried for all she was worth. He had received bruises and beatings of his one that night. He placed his paw on his bruised cheek while his right eye swelled and turned black. "Go away, you bastard." Axel whispered as his father slammed the door shut for the final time. Along with pain and anger, Axel had also gotten quiet a potty mouth from his father. But he had grown into a strong and courageous young man. If he ever saw his father again, he would pay dearly. 

The sound of snapping fingers just inches in front of his face brought him back to reality. "You back with us, Axel?" Riley asked. Axel took a quick moment to scan his surroundings. "Y..yeah. Just sorta zoinked out there." He replied. Axel sighed as he returned to his meal. Although he knew he needed to eat, he had quite lost his appetite. It wasn't the flashbacks of his horrid childhood that had caused this, it was the gory and horrific images that haunted his mind. Despite that, he continued eating anyway. 

While the soldiers were eating, a heavily guarded truck had just pulled up to the fortress that temporarily housed the platoon. Sergeant Rico and few other superiors stood out in the yard as the truck pulled up. Two young men stepped out of the truck and began carrying crates out of the back while a young female soldier with an M-16 strapped to her back confronted the higher ranking military personal. "Sir, here are the supplies and mail you requested." She said as she stood at attention before them. "Good work, soldier. Well done. How are conditions at the 4708 M.A.S.H. unite?" one of the uppers asked. "There is a slight decline on food rations. There's word that the enemy is hijacking any supply trucks they spot."

"Right. Well, take care of yourselves."

The female soldier nodded and saluted the uppers before turning to assist her male companions with the cargo. When the supplies had been loaded, the visiting deliverers made their exit. As they departed and security had been put back up against the station, the squirrels were completely oblivious to a pair of sinister black eyes that watched the truck as it made it's departure from the station. A figure smirked and a small evil laugh escaped its stitched mouth. It lowered the binoculars and turned to a pair of figures covered in the shadows. 

Axel leaned up against the wall of the bunk and crossed his legs as he opened the letter addressed to him. He took a small breath as he slipped the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. He already knew whom the letter was from, but he couldn't help but feel nervous when opening it. He held the piece of paper in his hands and began scanning his eyes down the letters so neatly hand written in blue ink.

Dear Axel,

I know you don't want me to worry too much about you, but that's proven to be impossible. Mother's instinct, I suppose. The house is so lonely without you here. I can't help but fear each day I face as the day I might lose you forever. Every night I go to sleep thankful that I hadn't received any notice of your demise. 

Are they taking care of you, honey? Are you eating well? Make sure to take care of yourself, okay? I'm so proud of you, don't forget that. Please come home safely.

Love, Mom

Axel sighed to himself as he gently folded up the letter and placed it in his chest pocket. He hated to think of his mother all alone in the house and worried sick about him. He began thinking of how to reply to this letter in a way that would ease her a bit of her concern. _Am I eating well, how ironic._ Axel thought to himself. He wasn't starving, that was for sure, but he couldn't exactly say he was eating well either. A smile crept onto his face as he closed his eyes and reminisced about his mother's cooking. After his father left, they actually had the chance to move out of the gutter and live decent lives without his father's greed and alcohol cravings sucking up all his mother's money. With that came the opportunity to eat actual food for a change. His mother was a great cook and made the best mac and cheese a squirrel could ever hope to eat. However, she never really got to cook that often what with her job and all, so it was usually Axel who was stuck with the task of cooking dinner. He had a bit of a culinary gift himself but it was nothing compared to his mother's. Whenever she had the chance to cook it was like a holiday.

He opened his eyes and sighed. He had no idea what his reply letter should say. He was never good at writing letters in the first place. He slowly walked over to a desk and took out a clean sheet of paper and a pen. "Okay," he said to himself as he exhaled. He tapped the end of the pen on the desk and scanned the bunk. The others seemed to have no problem finding the right words to place in their letters. Axel shook his head and returned to the task at hand. He had already decided to leave out the gory details of the battle. That would obviously be a bad choice to write about. He decided not to write about his nightmares either. His mother had not heard about his little brawl with Jones during boot camp either and he was going to keep it that way as well. "Then what _should _I write about?" he mumbled to himself. Shrugging to himself, he put his pen to the paper and decided to see what would happen if he just let the words write themselves.

Dear Mom,

I wish there was something I could do to get you to stop worrying. I can't really say that I blame you, but it's not healthy either. I'm perfectly fine and I have every intention of surviving. Please don't worry anymore.

Axel dropped his pen on the desk and placed his paw to his forehead. "That is just awful," he mumbled. "I suck at this." He was about to continue with what he could get down and edit it later when Chitter entered the bunk. "Hey guys, we've got duty." Axel placed his pen and paper on his nightstand as the other grumbled amongst themselves. "Didn't we just have duty two days ago?" Hunter mumbled under his breath. No one liked ground lookout, but it was better then scrubbing toilets. That and there was at least the chance to get some fresh air. _That just might be what I need to get my letter heading in the right direction._ Axel thought to himself. There was always the slight chance of something happening on ground lookout that would make for good 'writing back home' material, just as long as it didn't include any enemy surprise attacks or the gory death of one of your war buddies. Sighing to himself, Axel hoped something interesting would happen. If not, he and the guys would be subjected to five straight hours of pure boredom.

"This is bad," a young male soldier said as he scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars. "Any word?" he called to his companion. The same female soldier from before twisted the knob on a radio and listened for any signs of life. "Nothing. You think the other cargo trucks got hijacked as well?" The male soldier was just about to reply when something rustling in nearby bushes caught his attention. His eyes narrowed as he slowly reached for his weapon strapped to his back and clicked off the safety. His eyes scanned the area as he slowly approached the bush. With a shaking hand, he reached for the bush and pulled it back to find…nothing. "the hell?" he said to himself. That's when the sound of a bullet filled the air as he arched his back. Blood splattered the ground as he let out a forced scream and fell face first to the ground.

"Holy shit!" the female soldier screamed as she saw him die. With pure adrenaline fueling her, she jumped out of the truck and unstrapped her rifle. She heard another gasp of pain and from behind the truck the dead body of her other male companion fell to the dirt. She held her rifle in her hands and prepared to fire at whoever was attacking them. She took a step back as she heard footsteps from behind the truck. Before she could draw her next breath, two Tediz appeared from behind and car and charged her with their rifles drawn. She aimed her gun at them and was just about to put pressure on the trigger when she was struck from behind.

The next thing she knew, her face was in the dirt. She tried to get up, only to be struck again with what felt like a nightstick. Her lungs froze when she felt several Tediz drop upon her and began to take her pants off. She struggled one last time, but it wasn't long until she found herself on her back and held to the ground tightly by four Tediz. The Tediz laughed sinisterly as they pulled her underwear from her body. She screamed with terror as one Tedi reached inside of her. Pulling its hand out, it decided to get right down to it. Tears streamed down the young squirrel's face as she was rendered completely helpless. Several cries echoed through the area and were suddenly ended with the loud sound of a pistol. The Tediz piled into the truck and drove off. In their wake, they left the young girl with her clothes halfway off and a bullet through her chest. A large puddle of blood surrounded her body as the tears continued to stream down her lifeless face.

Five hours after their long shift began, it ended and nothing dared to intrude upon their camp station. In other words, another boring five-hour long ground lookout had finally come to an end. Axel scratched his head and rubbed his eyes as he and the others reentered the camp. Ground lookout required constant vigilance and that was not always easy to keep up at times. But they could be glad their shift was over for the time being. Hunter stretched his arms over his head then placed one paw on his stomach. "I'm famished! What about you guys?" As if on signal, a choir of growling stomachs answered Hunter's question. "No wonder, it's past noon." Axel said, looking at his wristwatch. "I wonder why they didn't sound mess call." San said.

"Well, let's go find out." Hunter said. "If I don't get some food into me soon, I'm gonna pass out." 

Before they got to the mess hall, they saw on obvious disturbance between the cooking staff and the other soldiers. "Great, what concoction have those 'artists' come up with this time?" Riley said as they approached the angry crowd. "What's going on?" San asked one of the soldiers on the sidelines. "They come up with a new way to combine salsa and seven bargain can meals or something?"

"If only that," the soldier said turning to them. "There isn't any food."

"You mean they're not doing their job or…"

"We're not sure. They just came out saying they didn't have any food made."

"Everyone listen up!" One of the cooks said, standing on a crate in order to get the attention of the soldiers. "We were supposed to receive a supply of food rations over an hour ago. This is outta our control. You're gonna have to take it up with the Uppers." Riley lowered his head and sighed. "Great, just what we need." The small group watched as several soldiers headed towards the upper's office to find out what was going on. "Shall we follow suit, gentlemen?" Riley said in his mockingly formal voice. Axel rolled his eyes and sighed while shaking his head slightly from side to side. "I dun care. Do whatever it is you want." He replied. Riley gave him a strange look and playfully hit him in the shoulder. "C'mon. It was in good humor for your entertainment you know. Let's go." Riley and the others turned to follow the large group of soldiers heading for the main offices. "Whatever," Axel mumbled as he slowly lagged behind.

"This is reaching critical level. Every cargo truck in the area has disappeared, some stations have gone for weeks without food. At this rate all of our troops will starve." Several officials of the Squirrel High Command exchanged concerned glances at the news of the hijackings. The enemy had struck each one of the trucks without warning and seemingly out of nowhere as well. Until the hijacking operation was put to a hault, there was no way they could deliver any supplies to any of the stations. But by that time, it may be too late for some areas. "Couldn't we start up a convoy system to escort the cargo trucks?" someone suggested. One of the Generals sighed before stating his facts. "We've tried that, but so far only one of the five convoy trucks has made it through. We're going to have to stop this at the source." The officials mumbled in agreement, but none of them had any suggestions or ideas as to how to prevent the hijackings. "We may have to put an entire branch on this case. After all, the entire Army branch is in grave danger." Someone spoke up.

"But who can handle this?"

"The Marines can do a ground sweep,"

"They'd be taken out too easily. We have no idea where the enemy is hiding."

"I suggest the Air Force. They'd be able to scope out more land."

"They may be too easily spotted,"

"Perhaps, but probably not easily attacked. If we have an arial sweep of the area, then enemy may not be able to react soon enough to attack or relocate."

"That may take a while if it even works at all."

"But it's the fastest way. Our soldiers can't hold out forever."

A sudden silence fell over the room. It was as if a light bulb went off, but everyone was too afraid to make any actions. "We'll have a vote on it tomorrow. Dismissed."

Axel changed out of his uniform and into his sleeping clothes. They had just heard about the hijackings from the Uppers. He didn't want to dwell on it too much. The entire camp of soldiers had gone the rest of the day without eating and their hunger was enough of a reminder as they needed. Trying to ignore the hungry noises from his stomach, he climbed into bed and pulled the sheet over his body. He stared at the wall in a seated position as he allowed his mind to begin shutting down for the night. He then slowly turned his gaze towards his friend. "How you holdin' up, Riley?" Riley was sitting on the edge of his bed and had not yet changed out of his uniform. "I think I'll survive," He paused as his stomach growled loudly again. "maybe." 

"We'll be okay. Trust me." San replied from the other side of the bunk.

"Really? How do you know?" Axel asked.

"I dunno, just a gut feeling."

At this point, everyone cast strange looks at him. San scanned the room with his eyes and grinned sheepishly. "Erm, no pun intended." He said as he gently waved his hand in the air and sweatdropped. He cast his gaze down at the bed and faced no one. "Let's just try to get some sleep." With that said, everyone who was already dressed for the occasion climbed into their beds. Axel layed back on his pillow and closed his eyes. He rolled over to his side and exhaled gently as he began to feel sleep claim him.

Pretz and Kaila eagerly volunteered for the task of locating and destroying the enemy hijackers. The boys were in trouble and they were their only hope. Miya, Gena, and Sabrina had also volunteered to help with the search as well. Now Pretz and the girls found themselves sailing miles above the ground and scanning the entire area with intense vigilance. Through the dark cover of the early morning it would be hard for them to be spotted. That made their job easier, but it was only a matter of time before the sun rose and blew their cover. Nevertheless, they continued with their search.

"709, unidentified ground object to your right. Check it out." A male voice spoke in Pretz's headset. "Roger!" she replied as she scanned her small screen for any signs of life. _They've got to be around her some where._ She said in her mind as she strained her eyes. The fate of the entire Army branch was in their hands, as well as the lives of Riley and Axel, and she was certainly not going to let them down. Some sort of blob came up on her heat censors. "680, I've detected something to the South. It appears to be a….." she trailed off when she realized the mysterious object was gained altitude. "HOLY SHIT!" she cried as she pulled on the controls and sent her plane into a steep barrel roll. 

"What is it, 709?" the same male voice asked. Before she could respond, the large object shot past Pretz's plane and into the air. In less then the blink of an eye, the missile had chosen another target and caused fatal damage the unfortunate pilot that lacked the reflexes to evade it. Pretz looked up just in time to see pieces of metal and fire spark over head. Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "Oh no," As what remained of Gena's plane fell to earth, Pretz could've sworn she saw what was left of Gena's body fall with it. "We have confirmed their whereabouts, keep your eyes open." The voice in her headset said, jarring her from her thoughts. A dot on her radar suddenly appeared. _Those bastards._ She thought as she switched to combat mode. "You're gonna pay for this,"

"709, do not engage in combat." Pretz blinked as if she had just been brought out of a trance. "All units report back to base now." She sat there for a few seconds as if her mind had gone completely numb. She sighed in anger as she steered the plane back towards base. Her hands shook as she gripped the controls tightly and tears escaped her closed eyes. "Gena," she whispered as her shoulders began to shake. She slowly opened her eyes and snarled in anger. "Next time, I'm going to kill you bastards by myself if I have to." She fiercely wiped her tears away and flew towards the base with the others to give their report to the Uppers. Although they were specifically ordered not to engage in any type of combat, Pretz wanted nothing more than to disobey her orders. "I'll get them back Gena. Don't worry."

Hours later that very same morning Axel opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then immediately tried to get back to sleep. It had been three days since he and the other soldiers had eaten. Axel had found that even after a full night sleep free of nightmares, he was still tired as hell. As he closed his eyes and buried his face back into his pillow, he felt something soft hit him hard on the head again. "Riley, give me a break here, man." He said without opening his eyes. "But harassing you is so much fun," Riley said in a tired, but somewhat cheerful voice. "Besides, they're not letting anyone else sleep in. Get up." Axel grumbled as he pushed himself up into a sitting position on his bed. He slid off the side of his bed and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed the bedpost. It took a while for his body to wake up what with the food shortage and all. As he slowly began to regain the strength in his legs, he carefully made his way over to his trunk and began taking out his uniform.

"You holdin' up all right?" San said from the other side of the bunk. As Axel slipped his pants on, he gave San a strange look. "I should be asking you the same," he said with a tired grin on his face. San blinking for a few seconds then shook his head. San had fainted the day before. He had lost quite a bit of blood when he was shot and the food shortage wasn't helping him with his recovery. 

Then again everyone felt as though they would pass out. Despite the crisis, the Uppers demanded the soldiers continued with their usual duties. Today Axel and the guys had to relocate the ammo to another part of the camp. The Tediz were known for throwing lighted matches over the fences of camps and igniting the ammo, causing huge explosions and killing several soldiers in the process. Weekly relocation of the ammunition was the only way to prevent this. 

All six squirrels struggled to move a large ammunition box. Usually it would only take two of them to push a box that size along, but the task was much more difficult with low energy and hungry bellies. "We're obviously not gettin' anywhere." Rin said as he leaned up against the box for support. "Any suggestions?"

"I suggest we take a break," Riley said as he slid to the ground. A few others mumbled in agreement as they each took a seat on the ground and leaned up against the box. Only Rin was left standing. "You know the Sarge is gonna be pissed if we don't get this done."

"Yeah, but there's no point in straining ourselves." Hunter said. San put his paw to his forehead and moaned slightly. "San?"

San looked up and grinned weakly. "I'm okay, just a little lightheaded."

"See? We're all dead tired and we've only managed to move this box a total of twelve feet in the last half-hour. We _need_ a break." Hunter then put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "Besides, Rin, why are you so worried about what the Sarge'll think? I think he'd understand considering the circumstances. I mean, we know you like to kiss his ass and all, but….."

"I do not kiss the Sarge's ass! I just don't wanna be yelled at!"

"He's not gonna yell at _you_." Axel said. "You're his favorite or something."

"That's 'cos he sucks up to him." Hunter said.

"I do not dammit!"

"Yeah ya do. That's why he let you be leader of our group."

"He didn't _let_ me, he _assigned_ me! No need to be jealous of my superior skills, you guys."

"Yeah, his superior ass-kissing skills." Axel said. 

Riley stuck his thumb in his mouth and began sucking and blowing on it. He then slowly removed it from his mouth and grinned with his eyes halfway shut. "So, did I get that promotion now, sir?" he said erotically in his best impression of Rin's voice. All six squirrels, including Rin, busted out laughing. "I can't believe you guys." Rin said as he held his forehead in his paw. He paused now and then in his speaking to catch some breath that was forced out of his lungs by laughter. "Meh, whatever gets our minds off our hunger." Hunter said shrugging. Axel sighed as the laughter died down. For those past few seconds he had completely forgotten about the pain in his stomach and his weakness. As the saying goes: Laughter is the best medicine.

"We better get this done before we get yelled at." Rin said in a serious voice. The others groaned silently as they got to their feet. The sooner they had gotten the task at hand finished the sooner they could rest for the day. Axel placed his paws on the box and leaned against it was he waited for the others to get to their feet. He sighed heavily through his mouth. Relocating the ammo sucked. As the others joined him at the side of the box, Axel inhaled deeply through his nose and froze. There was a strange aroma in the air that he hadn't noticed before what with his previous laughing fit. He sniffed the air again. His heart skipped a beat and his stomach churned. He couldn't believe what he was smelling, but at the same time he knew his nose was right. "Food…" Axel mumbled as he moved away from the box and in the smell's general direction.

"What the hell is wrong with you Axel?" Rin said when he noticed Axel's strange behavior. He looked over his shoulder at the others and blinked plainly for a few seconds. "Food. Someone has food. Can't you smell it?" 

"I don't smell a damn thing! Hurry up, we gotta get this done." Rin said.

"I'm illin', someone has food." Axel mumbled without even facing them.

"And I'm desperate enough to believe him," Hunter said. "Lead the way, Slugger!"

San and Riley silently agreed with Hunter as they began to follow Axel to the supposed food source. Chitter and Rin leaned up against the box as the four of them slowly walked off. They stood blinking silently for a moment before Rin turned to Chitter as if to ask if he'd 'abandon' him as well. "Ah well….food." Chitter said with a shrug before he went off. Rin watched at the five of them walked away. He shook his head then remembered the task at hand and sighed. There was no way he would be able to move the box on his own. A sudden pinch-hit his stomach. "I don't believe these guys," he mumbled as he walked off to join the others.

After travelling quite a few feet in food's general direction, a faint smell reached the noises of the other squirrels. It was very difficult for them to pick up and they may not have even noticed had they not been searching for such a smell. As they continued to follow Axel to the supposed food source, the smell grew stronger and it was no longer mistakable what it was. It was in fact food. As they reached a distant bunk the smells were easily identified. Cooked chicken smothered in BBQ sauce and macaroni and cheese. There was no doubt about it. Some greedy bastard had food and wasn't about to share it with anyone else.

Axel and the others stood at the door of the distant bunk. He looked over his shoulder and gave them a classic of 'I told you so' look. "First he hears the Tediz, then the reinforcement, now this. Do you have super senses or something Axel?" Hunter said. Axel shrugged and grinned. "Ever since I was little I've had an advanced sense of hearing and smell. Can't really explain it." Axel replied. "That's only good news for us." Riley said. "Now let's bust this greedy asshole!"

Inside the bunk three soldiers selfishly chowed down without a second thought of their suffering Brothers in Arms. They were so engrossed with their eating that they didn't even notice the door slowly and quietly open. Neither did they notice the six figures creeping into the bunk, a few brandishing pieces of wood they had found. They didn't even acknowledge the presence of the intruders until one of them spoke. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" The soldiers looked up to see Riley standing before them with his arms crossed and a mean grin on his face. He was backed up by Axel, who stood with a nasty leer and ready for a fight, while the others hit their open paws with the pieces of wood they had found. Axel's face fell when he caught a glimpse of one of the selfish squirrels. "Jones! I should've known."

"How the hell did you find us?" Jones said leering at Axel. Axel smirked and leered back. "Did you really think you could bring food into this camp without anyone noticing?" 

"Well, it sure took you long enough to catch on…."

"What?!"

"What? You think this is all we bought?"

"Where did you buy this?!" Hunter demanded.

"Travelling merchants out to take advantage of the food crisis out here. Some people can be pretty sick when it comes to making money."

"And you bought it all for yourselves. Figures."

"Do you have any idea how expensive this was? Food's not cheap out here you know."

Axel suddenly grabbed Jones by the collar. His paws were shaking with anger and looked as though they might shatter under their own grip pressure. "Do you have any idea what's going on outside!? Everyone here is suffering. I sometimes here guys moaning at night because they're so hungry! San here and the other injured soldiers need food more than anyone else here in order to recover! These aren't a bunch of strangers suffering. These are your comrades, your fellow soldiers, your Brothers in Arms! And here you are stuffing your face while everyone else slowly starves to death! You make me sick!" With a sudden movement, Jones sent his fist flying into Axel's chest. He was blinded by his anger and didn't even see the hit coming until the force sent him to the floor. Jones was a lot stronger than him at the moment and he couldn't prevent himself from falling in his weakened state.

"Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same if you had the money!" Jones yelled at him. "Can you really blame us for not wanting to starve to death! Can you!?" Axel glared at him as he picked himself up. "I can't blame you for not wanting to starve, but this is no excuse! There are guys out there who would give their tail for just a nibble of food. Just a small hope of survival and relief, that's all they want." Jones shook his head. "You don't know what you're saying. It's easy for you to say how wrong I am and how noble you are for suffering with them. You can't tell me you'd do differently. You hate being hungry, don't you? You'd give anything for a meal, wouldn't you? Who are you to say I'm wrong here? Survival of the fittest I say." Axel crossed his arms and sneered at him. Just maintaining the nasty look he was giving Jones was giving him a headache. He grunted as he turned to the others and nodded. They turned on heel and slowly walked towards the exit.

As suddenly as a lighting bolt, all six squirrels were knocked to the floor with the door slamming shut in front of them. Axel felt Jones's boot pressing down on his spine. "You didn't think we'd just let you go to tell everyone we've got food, did you?" Jones said as he increased the pressure on Axel's back. "You're not going anywhere until the evidence has been….taken care of if you will." Another squirrel said. From his position on the floor Axel recognized the guy as one of Jones's lackeys from boot camp. He felt his anger rising and he struggled out from under his enemy's foot. "I'm going to kill you, you butt fucking greedy son of a bitch!" he shouted.

The wind was suddenly knocked out of Axel's lungs when Jones's foot came down on his back. "You don't have a chance against me now. You're too weak to fight. Fortunately for you I'm in a good mood. I'll spare you a royal ass beating and if you're good, I might even share some of this food with you and your friends. What do you say?" Axel looked over his shoulder at Jones and leered evilly. "I'm not like you. I could never eat knowing everyone else is suffering."

"Same here," Riley said

One by one the squirrels stood by Axel's decision to 'boycott' whatever food Jones offered them. Jones stared at them and shook his head. "I don't understand. You want food yet you refuse when it's offered to you."

"It's called compassion!" Axel said. "I guess that's something you'll never understand."

Jones sighed and chuckled softly. "Guess not. You guys are way too soft. You'll never survive this war. I doubt you'll even last a week unless they manage to get some food here soon. This could be your only chance for survival." He gently lifted his foot from Axel's back as he took a bite out of his BBQ sandwich. Although he was physically free to move once again, Axel remained motionless on the floor. He was worn out and he felt sick. For a second he even thought about just going to sleep on the floor. He must've eventually dozed off for a few minutes because Jones and the other squirrels had finished their food and ushered them out of there after getting rid of whatever evidence there was before he knew it.

Pretz and the others stood at attention as their commanding officer explained the situation to them. Pretz was still enraged about Gena's death and her heart pounded with adrenaline as the thought of getting the chance for revenge entered her mind. "We are usually not so rash as to suggest bombing such small enemy posts, but in this case we have decided to make an exception. Your mission is to escort the bombers to these enemy posts. The Tediz have incredibly powerful missiles and they have an arial defense base hidden nearby. You'll have to protect the bombers at all costs. Are there any questions?" The commander looked over the crew of men and women and continued when there was no response. "All right. When the Marine scouts have given us their stats we will begin. I suggest you all rest up for your mission. Dismissed."

Pretz walked down the hallway towards her bunk with her fists clenched at her sides. Kaila walked close behind with her hands behind her head. Although she was just as angry about the death of their comrade, her eyes didn't harbor the same anger leer as her blue-haired friend's did. "Pretz, don't be so tense. Everything's going to be fine." Pretz stopped suddenly and looked at the floor. She slowly clenched and unclenched her fists. "I know," she said softly. She took a few deep breaths and continued to walk.

"I'm going to get them back. Nothing can be okay until then," Pretz said almost inaudibly. "Excuse me?" Kaila said, still maintaining her pace next to Pretz. "For what they did." Pretz spoke softly again. "They killed her. THEY KILLED HER!" Kaila took a few steps back and let her arms fall to her sides. Pretz stood there shaking and taking deep breaths. "They killed her," she whispered again. Kaila looked at her then lowered her gaze to the ground. "I know. We'll get them back."

"Damn right we'll get them back!" Pretz said suddenly as she turned towards her friend. Kaila was taken a bit by surprise by her friend's eagerness to battle. Pretz slowly allowed her gaze to float from Kaila to the ceiling. Even though there was a roof just above her, her mind painted the perfect picture of the night sky for her to gaze upon. "Riley, Axel. Please don't die. Hang in there."

Axel gripped his fists as he stood looking his opponent in the eyes. The hot wind of the desert rushed past them as a few tumbleweeds blew by. There were several rocky mountains and suaro cactuses around as the sun slowly sank behind the enemy, creating a black silhouette of his body. The sky was blood red and a few vultures flew over head squawking. Out of nowhere, the enemy charged at Axel. Axel stood still as the enemy ran towards him. He slowly twitched his tail back and forth as if showing sign of impatientness at his enemy's speed. Before he knew it, Axel had swung his foot up and kicked the enemy in the jaw a split second after he had reached striking range. He charged at his enemy and swung his fist into his face. He then spun around and delivered a round-house kick to the side of the enemy's head.

There was a painful snapping sound as the enemy fell to the ground. The force of the kick had broken his neck. Axel approached the dead body and grinned evilly. The setting sun was shining its last few rays on his lifeless face, revealing the enemy as Jones. Axel knelt beside Jones's body and placed his paw on Jones's chest. He dug his fingers into his chest and crushed his rib cage. Blood came seeping out of Jones's dead body and Axel's terrifying grin widened. He brought his paw up to his face and began licking the sour blood off of his fingers. He savored every drop of blood as if it were syrup. After finishing his snack, Axel twisted Jones's arm off and took a large bite out of the bisep. Blood ran down his mouth as he slowly chewed the flesh and once again savored the taste of it in his mouth. He gulped the muscle down and took another bite out of Jones's arm.

Axel's eyes snapped open as he gasped for air. He once again found himself staring at the ceiling of the bunk. He wiped his forehead and placed his paw over his eyes as if he were ashamed to face the world. "Oh my God…." He mumbled to himself in utter terror.

**__**

My, my Axel. Are you really that barbaric and hungry?

"Harry, I don't need this right now."

**__**

I was only asking a question. I didn't know you hated Jones that much. Although killing and eating him doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Why not?

"I'm not going to carry out another one of your evil suggestions Harry."

**__**

Well, it's not like the guy has any purpose here. I don't know about you but I didn't see him anywhere during the ground sweep battle, or performing any duties.

"You do have a point there."

**__**

So…..

"I'm not a cannibal dammit!"

**__**

I was only kidding! Yeesh! So how have you been?

"Lousy."

**__**

I see. Well it's time for me to be going, see you soon.

Axel shuddered as Harry disappeared back into his subconscious. He let out a shaking sigh and rolled over. He wrapped his arms around the pillow and smothered his face with it. Sure, he hated Jones with a passion, but the image of him eating his rival's dead body terrified him. "What am I gonna do?" he mumbled. He felt very lost at the moment. He wasn't sure what was bothering him. The dream, the uncertainty, or maybe just the thought of starving to death. Perhaps it was a combination of these elements, but whatever it was, he just wanted to forget. He just wanted to sleep and forget about the dream, the uncertainty and even starving. If there was a guardian watching over Axel that night, she must've felt pity for the young squirrel for it wasn't long before those disturbing thoughts faded into the back of his mind and tears began running from his eyes as he yawned. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt completely relaxed.

The next thing Axel knew he was receiving yet another beating from Riley's pillow. He moaned as he cracked open his eyes and saw rays of morning light squeezing through the window. "Dammit, Riley, knock it off!" He yelled as he tried to block his friend's pillow. Although he was once again being reluctant about getting up, Riley stopped hitting him and didn't bother telling him how lazy he was. Everyone was running low on energy now and Axel noticed Riley didn't have as much strength behind his hits with the pillow as he did the day before. That was understandable. After all, it was now a total of five days since any of them had eaten. Axel was amazed any of them still had the energy to get out of bed.

The Uppers no longer demanded the soldiers to perform duties under these conditions. The soldiers needed every last bit of energy they had left. Axel pushed himself into a sitting position and placed his paw on the bed frame. He didn't know why he wanted to get up, he really didn't have to, but once he was in a sitting position he felt a little bit stronger. He noticed everyone else was dressed and heading out the door. "Where you guys goin'?" he asked. "Outside by the crates. It's cooler out there." Riley said. This was the first and probably only time the soldiers were allowed to lay around all day. Of course, under the current conditions it wasn't exactly fun, but they were going to make the most of a bad situation while they still could. 

Axel allowed the others to go ahead without him. He wasn't in any hurry anyway. After sitting on his bed for a while, he finally got up and searched for his uniform. As feeble as he thought he should have felt, he got dressed rather quickly and sat down on his trunk. Every now and then he would get sort of an energy recharge, but that was always short lived. He was some what surprised how well he and the others were managing to hold out without any food. Sure it was no picnic and thing weren't getting any easier for them, but they could still move and they weren't going crazy. Axel would've expected half the camp to lose their minds and start going cannibalistic right about now. But they were strong. They had to have been to have made it this far.

Axel walked out of the bunk with his hands in his pockets. There were grey clouds in the sky and the air was cool. It was actually rather nice weather considering how hot it would sometimes get. Not that it bothered Axel too much. He was a desert squirrel raised in the Southwest. He would sometimes snicker to himself at the sight of the other squirrels struggling in the heat. However he never really felt like laughing when the weather turned cold. Never the less, the temperature was perfect whether a squirrel's coat was made for the desert heat or the freezing air of the north. The cool wind blew through Axel's hair-like tuffs of fur and whipped the ends of his trusty red bandana around. The Uppers discouraged wearing such brightly colored articles of clothes on the battle field, especially in Axel's case where his bandana would be the perfect target for a head shot, but they weren't fighting anyone right now and the Upper's could care less.

Just as this thought ran through his mind, Axel dropped to his knees so abruptly one might have thought he had been shot. He gritted his teeth in pain and clutched his stomach. A sharp pain cut through his body as if a knife was slowly running against the walls of his stomach. This feeling erupted in his body as if he had swallowed several pieces of glass. Sweat dripped down Axel's face as the intense cramping began. It was as if a pair of hands were twisting his stomach like a wet towel. He was in pure agonizing hell. But just as suddenly as the pain started, it was relieved. Axel gasped as he continued to hold his stomach. The hunger pains were becoming unbearable and there was no sign of relief in sight. 

Axel swallowed a gulp of air and slowly rose to his feet. The intense pains were somewhat of a common occurrence. However the pain was never something one could get used to, but it was over for the time being. With that as it were, Axel leisurely headed to the crates where his friends were. He found a spot on the ground among the various crates and slowly headed over to claim it. He gently lowered himself to the ground, then finally allowed his legs to give in and hit the dirt with a gently thud. He sighed lightly as he leaned up against one of the crates and closed his eyes. He was thinking about going back to sleep for a while when he felt someone gently touch his arm. "Wha?" he mumbled as he opened his eyes and turned his head to the left.

A large flash blinded Axel's vision and caused him to cover his eyes with his paws in response. "AAAGH! What the hell was that?" he yelled as he shielded his tightly shut eyes with his arms. He heard several fits of laughter in response. "Don't feel bad, he got me too." He heard San say. Axel dared to slowly open his eyes while still keeping his arms up to protect them. To his right he saw Riley leaning against a crate and laughing with a small digital camera in his paws. "It's sad how easily we're entertained, isn't it?" he asked Axel. Axel blinked slightly and lowered his arms. "Where'd you get that?"

"Found it. It's broken but the flash still works."

"What'd you do that for though?! I'm gonna be seeing these retarded purple spots for hours thanks to you, fuckhead."

"I was bored. You're bored. Everyone's bored. This is our only source of entertainment."

Before another word was uttered, Axel quickly found the energy to spring to his feet and snatch the camera out of an unsuspecting Riley's hand. Riley watched helplessly as Axel took off with the camera, skidded to a stop twenty feet away, and turned towards him with a mocking grin on his face and the camera in his possession. "I'm gonna break your face in, Axel!" Riley shouted from his position on the ground. Axel snickered in reply and gently tossed the camera in the air, catching it in one hand. "No you won't, you're too lazy to chase me around." Riley paused in reply to this and scanned the dirt as if searching for a witty retort. After a few seconds of mindless blinking, he pounded his knee with his fist as a realization hit him. "Dammit! He's right!"

Several hours before the boys had been enjoying their terror free time off from the war with child-like horseplay, before any of them were even awake, a serious mission was underway. A mission that would determine the fate of the ground soldiers and possibly held the outcome of the war in the balance as well. The final effort to stop the hijackings was underway. If this mission was unsuccessful, there was a very good chance that everyone of the Army ground troops would perish from hunger. There was no room for error here. Many lives were in the balance. Not just those of the soldiers, but also those of the civilians who would be targeted without military protection. Obviously those thoughts didn't ease the nerves of Pretz or any of the other Air Force soldiers who were on this particular mission.

_Nothing so far. Where are they?_ Pretz thought as her eyes scanned the control panel before her. The Tediz were out there, that was certain, but where and when they'd attack was the thing that made sweat trickle down her forehead. That and the knowledge that if she failed, her friends in the Army would be doomed. A sudden blink on one of the monitors caught her eye. She stared looking at the image as it slowly drew closer. "I've got something," she mumbled almost inaudibly. 

"709, speak up. I can't hear you." A male voice spoke into her headset. As the voice continued, she gently lifted her gaze as something appeared on the horizon. "709, do you read…"

"INCOMING!" Pretz suddenly screamed as a blinding light spread across the sky. Whatever had been launched her way had missed her, but it was enough to send her plane out of control. "All unites prepare for combat engage! Protect the bombers at all costs!" she heard the voice command as she struggled to regain control of her plane. Using every bit of strength she had, she was slowly able to stop her plane from spinning, but not from plummeting. "Cm'on! Up, up…" she begged from gritted teeth. A sudden jerk sent the back of her head slamming against the seat. "Am I up?" she said in shock as she blinked. 

"WATCH YOUR BACK!" Pretz never knew if that cry was meant for her, but it might as well have been. Her monitor showed some sort of inclosing objects on her tail. Pure instinct kicked in and Pretz pulled the controls back, sending the plane soaring towards the sky. She was still unclear on her location in the sky, until she found herself staring out into the horizon and behind the enemy that had fired at her. She had done a loop. _Hey, that was kinda cool!_ She thought as she narrowed her eyes and locked her target. "Lock on target…and fire!" she grinned as she commanded her plane to release a pair of missiles towards the enemy's plane. 

As the light of the explosion filled the air, a dark figure was hurtling towards Pretz's plane, causing her to pull back on the controls by reflex. She shuddered in fear as a plane flew by her at high top speeds, just missing her. A quick glance at the radar concluded that everyone was engaged in combat. Her eyes scanned the horizon left and right. She wasn't sure who or where the enemy was but she kept her plane moving to prevent herself from becoming an easy target.

She made a quick and sharp turn when she detected an enemy plane releasing several missiles at her fellow pilots. That was nearly a fatal mistake. Upon looking forward, she spotted something that made her heart stop. Right before her was an enemy plane that was on a head on collision course with her. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes grew large. She could've sworn she saw the eyes of the enemy Tedi inside, smiling evilly on a pure kamikaze mission. "Oh, God!" she said as the plane whipped past her. She blinked for a second unable to piece together what had just happened. The whole thing lasted less than a second, but it seemed like several minutes. She slowly looked down at her hands, which gripped the controls of the plane tightly. That's when she realized she hadn't let up on the sharp turn. She had unconsciously turned the plane just enough to steer her to safety. Her own reflexes had saved her.

"They're retreating. Don't let up!" a voice commanded into her headset. She looked around slightly and regained steady control of her plane. The Tediz were after the bombers, however they had underestimated the will of the dog fighters that would be accompanying them. _Hold on, guys. It's almost over._ She saw the kamikaze Tedi turning back, most likely going for one good shot at one of the Bombers. "I've had enough of this." She said as she flicked up the trigger buttons on the control panels. She leaned her plane far to the left and headed straight for the enemy plane. She hadn't realized until after she made her fateful move that the enemy may have back up guards, but there was no turning back now. 

"Die," she whispered as she pressed the trigger buttons. The twin machine guns on her plane began spewing out a river of hot lead at the enemy. The enemy plane swayed heavily as it received several bullet puncture before finally losing the battle to stay in the air. "We are over target coordinates. All dog fighters clear out." Pretz grinned slightly as she maneuvered her plane high above the ground and well out of the path of the Bombers. Once the signal was given, the pilots released canisters onto the target, which later swallowed hidden bases in an ocean of destruction. _That ought to quite things down a bit._ Pretz thought as she and the remaining arial fighters headed towards base. _I just hope Riley and the others held out long enough._

"And it was the best sandwich I had ever eaten in my entire life." Axel and the others were laying in the dirt and staring up at the sky as they exchanged stories of food. Their hunger had finally caused them to go a little crazy, but they thought nothing out of the ordinary about their conversation. Axel placed his paws behind his head and watched the clouds above him slowly passed by. "I could really go for some homemade macaroni and cheese right about now." He mumbled to no one inparticular. "Macaroni and cheese?" Hunter replied. "Tell us! Tell us! I gotta hear this one!"

"Well," Axel began. "The macaroni and cheese was the cheesiest in all the land. None could measure up to its pure wholesome goodness. It was first in its class and all the other macaroni and cheese turned green, but I think that was because it was old."

"How did it taste?" San chimed in.

"When I took a bite of that Holy Cheese and Pasta Beast, it was like there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited. Except for Jones, he sucks."

"The Holy Beast must choose well," Hunter said.

"It did," Axel said, his eyes dilating as he looked onward into the cloudy sky. "It is in the clouds! It needs no ketchup!" 

"You put ketchup on macaroni and cheese?" San said. "That's gross!"

"No it's not! You should try it." Axel replied.

"No way! That sounds disgusting!"

"Not as disgusting as putting nacho cheese on Hostess cupcakes."

"Who the hell does that?"

"Riley,"

At this point, four squirrels turned their gaze towards Riley. "Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it." Riley replied nonchalantly. Axel continued starring at the sky and didn't even acknowledge the food conversation anymore. He felt so tired and the weather was so cool and relaxing. Every time he blinked his eye felt heavier and heavier. "I'm goin' to sleep," he mumbled almost inaudibly and he closed his eyes. He let out a long sigh before he lost himself in the sleeping state. Although it was hours later that Riley began punching Axel in the arm, it only seemed like minutes. "Axel! Get up! It's a miracle or something!" he heard Riley say. "I don't care about what you got for Christmas! Leave me alone." He mumbled as he rolled onto his side, trying to get back to sleep. Riley gripped his arm tightly and shook him, but he refused to open his eyes. "Come on, Axel! They've got food!" 

This time, Axel's eyes snapped open and he launched himself into a sitting position. "Wha? They…who has what?!" Axel stuttered as he was still half-asleep. "Them! They got food!" Riley said pointing in the direction of the cafeteria. "Holy shit, are you ser….WAA!" Riley grew tired of Axel's questions and pulled him to his feet. He quickly took off for the cafeteria and left his drowsy friend behind. Axel slowly sped himself into a run when he noticed several other soldiers heading towards the cafeteria. "My friends suck," he said when he realized everyone had left him behind. 

It wasn't too long later that Axel managed to catch up to the others in the cafeteria where food rations and food donations from the civilians were being served. Although most of it was cheap store brand non-perishable food items, the soldiers didn't seem to mind at all. Axel sighed slightly as he placed a spoonful of macaroni and cheese in his mouth. The flavor of those tender noodles smothered with cheese sauce brought back some rather pleasant memories from his childhood. Of course, this mac and cheese was no where near as good as his mother's. It was definitely missing something. "That is really disgusting! I can't believe you actually put that shit on your food!" Hunter said as he watched Axel generously drown his mac and cheese in an ocean of ketchup. "Try it before you rip on it, you stupid stuck up bitch." Axel replied as he stirred his mac and cheese around. 

Throughout the remainder of the meal, the boys continued their random comments of such things. After words, they could laugh about their episode of temporary insanity, but for the moment all they cared about was besting the rest at insults and eating until they felt sick. Well, they'd be able to laugh when the indigestion had passed.

A/N: Aren't I a bitch? I make you all wait ALL this time to read chapter eight, and this is what ya get! Mwa, ha, ha! I am evil! I don't know what it was about this chapter that took me forever, but I'm glad it's finally done! Don't forget to review!


	9. Total War

A/N: I know I know! It's been forever! It's hard to write when thoughts of Rurouni Kenshin and finding Jinchuu arc manga scans (I'm too picky to settle for just the translated scripts) keep entering your mind. BTW, if anyone knows a good site with the Jinchuu arc translated scans that I can save to my computer, please e-mail me! I only need volumes 22-24 and volume 28. Thanx!

"Okay guys, Attention!" Sergeant Rico said as he stood before a neat line of soldiers. The soldiers responded to Rico's command by going from ease to attention in perfect unison with each other. "Right." Rico replied. The group of squirrels stood in a small base within a mountainside. It had been weeks since food rations had returned to the normal flow and the soldiers recovered from nearly starving to death. In that time one of the fractions of the Army had taken half of a base, while the Tediz occupied the other half. Neither side was willing to budge without a fight. Research of the fortress had revealed a flaw in the design. The fortress's sewer had a vent that can pump lethal chemical into the air, killing everything. Knowing that the Tediz had no problem using such methods of destorying their soldiers, the SHC ordered more troops to go over and take out the Tediz before they triggered the gas. 

That is where Axel and Co. come in. They stood amoung the line up as Sergeant Rico briefed them on their newest mission. It appeared that a fail safe feature as locked onto each canister during testing to prevent a soldier from accidently using it on his own kind. The scientist who created this feature died before he could remove it and as it now stood, the only way to evade the problem of the fail safe feature was to steal the enemy's canister. Fortunatly for the Squirrels, the Tediz had the same problem with the fail safe feature on their canisters. It was all a matter of who stole and activated the canisters first. Sergeant Rico took out a pointer and tapped it on a map of the fortress and sewer sections to his right as he continued with the briefing. "Find a weapon and get yourself either defending this base, attacking the other base, or get the enemy's canister. Take canister to sewer area where you will find a place to insert the canister. Thereby you wanna make sure you find yourself either a gas mask or that central area, 'cos you don't wanna be outside! No sir! Any questions boys? No! Well, good luck. Atten…..tion!" As the soldiers turned and jogged off to fulfill their duties, Sergeant Rico looked on and mumbled to himself. "Great guys, everyone of 'em."

"Everyone else is being retarded so I guess it's up to us to come up with some sort of a structured plan." Riley said. He, Axel, San, and Hunter stood by the sewer entrance of the Squirrel fortress while the other soldiers sprinted off in different directions towards the enemy base. "I wouldn't say they were being retarded exactly. More like they just want to overwhelm the Tediz or somethin' like that." San replied. 

"Who cares whether they're retarded or not. Let's just do something." Hunter broke in. "How many other guys are on our team anyway?"

"There were four guys that ran off, there's that one guy over there in the corner, and then there's Jones and his bitches but we already know we can't count on them." Riley said.

"Where'd those pansy assholes go anyway?" Hunter asked.

"Who cares. Let's hope the Tediz find them and use them as target practice. Anyway, I'm goin' over to the Tediz base to help the other guys out. San you come with me. Hunter guard the front ground and Axel, seeing as how you're a dead eye, you take the sniper tower."

The other three squirrels nodded as they accepted their missions from the new unofficial leader. Riley crossed his arms and scanned the area until he spotted the lone soldier in the corner who was loading his weapon. "Hey you over there!" he called causing the youth to look up. "Stay here and help guard the fort a bit, will ya?" The other soldier seemed to understand how vulnerable their base was and nodded his head in response. With each task assigned the soldiers took their positions and the battle begun.

Axel carefully crept into the dark sniper tower. Although his position as sniper would be a lot less hectic than the last battle he felt exteremely nervous and paranoid that a bullet would zoom at him out of nowhere without even making a sound. He unstrapped his sniper rifle from his back and slowly inched towards the window of the tower. The enemy's sniper tower could easily be seen but because it was so dark he couldn't tell if there was an enemy sniper in there. He gently pushed out air through his lips as he raised the scope of the rifle to his eye. He quickly zoomed into the enemy base to see if an enemy sniper was present. When the sniper tower appeared empty he zoomed out and stepped towards the window with confidence and courage. Below him he spotted two hills with a small wooden bridge connecting them as well as a path leading from the bases large metal doors. Running across these surroundings he spotted his allie Squirrels and enemy Tediz.

A strange feeling overcame Axel at that moment. They all seemed so vulnerable. They were his for the picking. He could take out anyone of them, friend or foe, and they would never know what had hit them. Yet at the same time, he was just as vulnerable to an enemy sniper or to a sneak attack from a silent Tedi on foot armed with only a knife. He didn't know what he could make of this and had he not been in the middle of a battle he would've spent more time pondering it. His friends needed him and that was all he needed on his mind.

As a few squirrels ran over the bridge towards the enemy base, a group of Tediz made their way towards the Squirrel base using the path. However, a group of squirrels stood along the path ready to greet the enemy. San and Riley were among that group and each one of them looked ready to fight to the death. Axel felt tempted to watch the fight and help out in anyway he could, but he needed to keep an eye out for stray Tediz trying to sneak in a cheap shot or two as well as snipers. He spotted such a Tediz crawling along one of the hills as the battle raged below. In his filthy paws he held a bottle grenade. A small grin appeared on Axel's face as he got the Tediz's head right in his crosshairs and squeezed the trigger. "Filthy cheap ass," he mumbled as the bullet spewed out of his rifle and the Tediz's 'brains' were left spilling all over the grass. A few seconds later, the grenade went off and left the dead Tedi as an even bigger mess.

Out of the corner of his eye, Axel saw another Tedi running along the ground. He was heading towards the sewer entrance and obviously had the intentions of sneaking to the Squirrels base by sewer. The Tedi did make it to the hole but as he fell his head scattered in pieces over the ground. After checking again for an enemy sniper, Axel turned his attention to the battle below him. It seemed as though the Tediz had been banking on that surprise attack with the bottle grenade. Despite the blood that soaked into the soil and the poor young squirrel that lay dead and gutted on the ground, the small brawl was turning in favor of the Squirrels. The Tediz were being pushed back and were finally forced to retreat with the squirrels in hot pursuit. _No wonder the Tediz had been so hard to beat before. They live off of cheap shots and tricks. Take that away and they're not any tougher than we are._ Axel continued to obserb the events below until something caught his attention. He lowered the rifle slightly to spot whatever had caught his eye.

Axel's jaw dropped when he spotted a Tedi starring at him from the wooden bridge. This Tedi just happened to have a rather deadly looking bazooka in its hands and saw the young squirrel perfectly through the scope. Axel knew that he didn't have enough time to get the Tedi in his sights before it fired on him so he back peddled in response just as the Tedi launched a missile at the tower. Axel hit the floor just before the missile came crashing into the tower. After the shaking stopped, he slowly crawled towards the edge of the window. He stayed frozen for several minutes until he decided it was safe to take a quick look. 

He peeked over the edge of the window and saw that the Tedi had disappeared. Looking at the area infront of the Tediz base he noticed that the battle had intensified. The Tediz back ups had come out of hiding but the Squirrels were doing fine. That's when his sharp eyes caught movement again. The Tedi had moved off the bridge, but it still toted that bazooka with it and it had its sights on Axel once again. "Oh shit," he whimpered as the missiles were sent flying again. Axel dove to the back of the tower and covered his head as the missiles collided with the tower. The room shook violently as large pieces of concrete were broken off. Axel stayed completely frozen until the attack stopped after a few seconds. "I'm getting sick of this!" he said as he slowly pushed himself off the floor.

Axel stayed as low as possible as he crept towards the edge of the window. He knew that if he tried to get another look he'd be fired at again. He did the only thing he could think off. He snatched a grenade from his belt and ripped out the pin with his teeth. The hill was a pretty good distance from the tower and he didn't know if he was strong enough to throw it that far, but it was worth a try. He remembered the location of the Tedi when he last saw him about to fire. Toting around a large weapon like a bazooka was going to slow him down without a doubt. As he visualized where the Tedi had been standing he heard the battle rage on from the ground. It sounded as though a few Tediz had made it over to their base. However he didn't have the time to worry about that what with there being a ticking grenade in his paw. He swung his arm out the window and launched the grenade towards the hill with all this strength. A few seconds later his sharp ears were greeted by the sound of a small explosion and the splattering of moist innards on the grass. "Bull's eye." He said in a quiet and almost evil sounding voice.

A sudden hissing from his radio jarred him from his state. Axel reached for it and listened as Hunter's voice came through. "Thanks for that, Axel. That Tedi was givin' me one hell of a time!" A large sweatdrop appeared on Axel's forehead as an awkward smile forced its way onto his face. "Wrong Tedi," he mumbled to himself in between gentle fits of annoyed chuckles. "The guys are gonna need me for a bit so you and that one guy are on your own. I'll be back to help as soon as I can." Hunter said. A crackle buzzed from the radio as the conversation ended and Hunter ran to the enemy base. "Great, just what I need." Axel sighed as he latched the radio back to his belt. He braved a quick glance out the window to have a look at what was going on. The first place he checked was the hill where the bazooka toting Tedi had been. He was hoping to catch him in his sights first this time, but he was gone. "This can't be good." Axel mumbled as he slipped back into the darkness of the tower.

A sudden explosion from within the Squirrel base sent a charge up his spine. "Ah shit!" Axel grunted. He grabbed his sniper rifle and bolted out of the tower. As he passed through the doorway he skidded to a stop and caught a glimpse of his unknown allie running in frantic circles. The Tedi with the bazooka had made its way to their base and was having a bit of target practice with the nameless soldier. Axel felt his body temperature rise with rage as he charged at the Tedi. He had no idea what he was doing but he wouldn't allow himself to stop. He reached for a throwing knife from his belt and launched it at the Tedi. The knife hit the Tedi right in the leg, causing the bioandroid to reel back and cuss. 

"Go! Go!" Axel shouted at the other soldier as he pointed frantically towards the sewer entrance. The soldier looked between him and the sewer quickly with an uncertain look on his face. "But what about…"

"Just move!" Axel interrupted. The soldier hesitated for a second but then sprinted towards the sewer. Axel took off toward the sewer himself. Although it meant leaving the base completely unprotected it seemed as though this particular Tedi was more interested in blowing up squirrels than retreving the canister. His fur began to stand on end as he felt the Tedi from behind him rise with its deadly weapon. He supressed the urge to look over his shoulder and forced his body to go faster.

However he couldn't quite make it. There was an ear-piercing explosion as Axel was sent flying head over heals into the air. Small drops of spit and air spurted out of his mouth when his back collided roughly with the hard floor upon his ungraceful landing. The back of his head erupted with pain as his helmet wasn't all that shock absorbant. He tilted his head back slightly a bit to see the Tedi taking aim again. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and made a mad dash towards the sewer. The uneasy feeling that his enemy was right on his back reached him again and caused him to push himself to go faster. 

As Axel reached the first turn of the sewer, he had to sort of skid as he turned in order to stop himself from colliding with the wall. The mud was rather slippery and it was difficult for him to keep his footing. Just as he turned the corner, another RPG from the Tedi's bazooka smashed into the wall and caused a loud explosion. The force pushed Axel forward and the loud sound from the explosion rang painfully in his ears. He felt the intense heat from the missile press against his back as he struggled not to loose his footing on the slick ground.

He pressed his body to maintain a decent speed as the blood rushed through him. He felt at any minute blood would force its way out of his body just by the force his heart was pounding. Needless to say, he wasn't feeling too well at the moment. He felt his throat tighten when he noticed a strange green glow just down the tunnel and slowly heading towards him. His boots failed to get a decent grip on the muddy ground as he tried to skid to a stop. This was just what he needed. First evil teddy bears and now wierd glowing ghost monster things. He didn't know what that green glowing thing was, but he was sure it was trouble and something to be destroyed upon sight. As he reached for his gun, his radio let out another hiss.

"Comin' through!" Axel recognized the sound of another squirrel flowing from the radio speaker. "Hey hey! You comin' or are you just gonna stand there all day?" Axel shook his head as if he had just been released from a spell and looked before him. The nameless soldier from before was waving him over to the main sewer chamber while another squirrel was carrying a canister that pulsed a green glow. Axel blinked for a few seconds before he was able to free his body from a frozen state. He didn't know how they'd gotten the canister, but he didn't really care. 

He jetted towards the central area just as the squirrel carrying the canister inserted it into the plug. His feet met with the wooden floor of the area and allowed him to regain some bit of balance. All three squirrels moved towards the center of the room as the metal doors began to close and sirens filled the air. Axel just hoped his friends would be able to get gas masks in time. The doors met with the moist ground and the poisonous gas loomed through the air outside, making a hissing noise as it slithered through the battlefield. Just beyound the doors the sound of bodies banging on the metal and falling to the mud stung Axel's ears. They could be Tediz out there, or they could be Squirrels. Axel hoped it was the former as the sirens began to die down, indicating that the natural air would soon be safe to breathe once again.

The metal doors opened again and revealed several brown figures lying face down in the mud. "I think what's left of the Tediz army is in their base. Let's cut 'em off and take 'em all out once and for all." The squirrel with the canister suggested. Axel shrugged and the nameless squirrel from before nodded in agreement. They both assumed that the bazooka Tedi had expired, what with him not being able to reach a gas mask point in time. That would explain the silence. 

A lighting bolt shot down Axel's spine and caused his muscles to tense. Silence. There was silence all around them. His sharp ears couldn't pick up the sounds of battle he had heard just a few minutes ago. Something was not right. _Holy shit! What if they're all dead?!_ His mind screamed as he rushed past the two squirrels and towards the enemy base. Riley, Hunter, and San could be dead along with the rest of the team. What if he and the other two were the only ones left alive? Sure that would mean the Teidz had been defeated and the fortress was theirs, but he couldn't imagine himself moving on without his friends there to fight by his side. He heard the other two following behind him. It was hard for either of them to get a confident grip on the slick ground, but Axel continued his climb of the sewers without the slightest slowdown. His ears scanned his surroundings like sonar, trying to pick up any sound that would indicate that he and the other two weren't the only ones left alive. And he did hear such a sound.

BANG

The sound caused Axel's organs to leap in his body from surprised and fear. He stole a quick glance over his shoulder as the other two stumbed a bit from the shock. Somehow or another, a Tedi had managed to sneak into the central area. Either that or the poison air had no effect on it for some reason. Whatever had caused the Tedi to survive didn't spend too much time in Axel's mind. It had a deadly weapon, a hand cannon to be precise. A weapon so deadly it would kill anyone, no matter where they were hit, with one shot. Axel's legs begged him to allow them to go into superdash mode, but he refused them to do so when he noticed his struggling allies. Going on auto pilot, he grabbed the hand of the nearest squirrel and hot tailed it out of there. "Move it!" he yelled over his shoulder at the other squirrel, as well as the one he was dragging behind him. That was about all he could do, and was willing to do at the moment.

Axel was not stupid. The enemy already had his weapon drawn. If he were to draw his own gun he would become the target in an instant and would most likely be shot before he could even get the enemy in his sights. That wouldn't be a very smart move at all. He had to let the other guy rely on himself while he pulled the other one out of there. The way he saw it, no one was saving his ass. He wasn't a super hero, after all.

The loud shots continued to echo through the sewer tunnel. For the moment only the walls and ground had felt the wrath of the hand cannon. That was until Axel nearly lost his lunch. The sound of organs splattering and the feel of warm blood and brain bits on the back of his neck caused his stomach to lurch. The soldier he was dragging behind seemed to collaspe under his own weight. Assuming he had been the one to take the bullet to the head, Axel reluctantly let go of his arm and continued running forward without looking back.

He felt a bullet whiz past his shoulder and quickened his pace. Through the chaos he heard another pair of feet slamming against the mud. He just hoped that the other guy would make it as well. He skidded to an ungraceful turn as he rounded a corner and dashed towards the opening to the Tediz fortress. Once on solid ground he dashed to the side of the wall and crouched down. He gripped the handle of his uzi like a childhood plush toy as he aimed the deadly weapon at the empty space in front of him. It was only a matter of time, he hoped, before the enemy soldier filled that space. He heard the footsteps of his surviving ally slop through the mud and dash out the sewer. He recognized it as the youth from the beginning of the mission.

_Get down!_ Axel's mind screamed. But before the words could reach his mouth, the other squirrel had already dropped to the floor. The loud gun shots now echoed through the base. The other squirrel squirmed on the floor as he tried to get out of harm's way. Axel remained still and gritted his teeth. His grip on the gun tightened. Any mintue now. The other squirrel continued his struggle to remove his own weapon. Bullets erupted on the floor around him. _What the hell is he doing?_ Axel's mind whispered. He was rather frustrated. He could feel the blood from the other soldier dripping down his back. His muscles tensed as he could feel the same fate the other soldier suffered about to befall his only remaining comrade. _Don't move, don't move! Don't try anything!_ His mind yelled at him. 

The other squirrel had finally released his gun from the grip of his belt and held it in shaking hands. Axel still couldn't see the enemy soldier, but he knew he was near and closing in. The squirrel stared wide-eyed into the sewer as he pointed his gun out in front of him. He trembled as he released a stream of bullets into the mouth of the sewer. Even as the Tedi was being fired upon, his accuracy had not let up. The soldier let out a small yell as a bullet smashed into the floor by his shoulder. _Don't let up! Just don't let up! _Axel's mind whispered as he slowly rose to his feet. The sudden cry of the enemy soldier made him jump slightly. What was followed by the sound of splattering mud and deep gulps for air caused slight comfort the stressed soldier. One more immediate danger was no longer plauging either of the squirrels. For the moment they were safe. "I got 'em." The other squirrel had said repeatively in between gasps.

Axel would have been relieved if it wasn't for the fact that his back was still covered in blood and his friends were missing. They were gone and the whole place was empty. "Empty?" Axel mumbled as his sharp eyes continued to scan the enemy base. There were no bodies lying around the base at all. If the gas had gotten them, surely the floor would be littered with bodies of squirrels and Tediz alike. But he knew that the gas had spread outside of the central area. There were dead Tediz in the sewers to prove that. So if no one had been killed off by the gas, where were they?

"I don't like this," Axel said as he walked through the base. His eyes were narrow and his fists rested at his sides. "I don't like this at all." He stopped for a moment, planting the bottoms of his combat boots to the floor, and froze in vigilance. His ears twitched unconsciously under his helmet. The faint sounds of battle reached his ears. His fists became even tighter as he snapped his head from side to side. Without lifting his feet from the ground, he twisted his body and stared down the dark jaws of the sewer. His eyes penetrated the darkness with a hard stare. The sound seemed to be floating up through the very floor he was standing on. Soon he was surrounded in the faint noise like heat waves from flames just underneath him. "The battle is….underground?" Axel mumbled. His voice was soft and his eyes lost their intense glare. With his lips parted slightly and his eyes relaxed, his face had transformed to a look of curiousity and confusion. "But how?"

A gasp had forced its way through his chest as the spiralling silver object landed right where his foot had been. Axel stumbled back a few paces as he stared at the throwing knife that was now planted in the ground. His reactions were cat-like and his eyes had caught the sight of the blade sailing through the air. Before he could even think his body had kicked in a moved itself out of harm's way. If it weren't for that, he would've had a large hole in his foot and a lot of pain to deal with. He gritted his teeth as he looked around for the knife-throwing culprit. He felt his body tense as the sinster laugh of the Tediz filled the air from all directions. 

There were about ten Tediz staring down at the two squirrels from the second floor of the base. Axel was about to question how they had survived the gas until he noticed each of them held a gas mask in their filthy paws. He scanned over the bears slowly as they each looked at one another with an evil grin plastered on their faces. It was obvious that he and the other squirrel were indeed surrounded, but the Tediz were not heavily armed. Strangely enough, only one of them had an M-16. The others were armed with knives and katanas. Never the less, they were out numbered at the odds looked in favor for the Tediz. 

Axel was ready to draw his uzi at a moments notice, but decided to hold off for now. Even though most of the Tediz were armed with sharp objects rather than fire arms, he'd be taken out immeadiatly if he were to draw. The scratchy voices of the Tediz peirced his ears as they began speaking with one another in their own language. He gulped at just the sound of the sinister laughter that accompanied their speech. He continued to scan each and every one of them from his position on the ground. He could feel his insides tremble at the life-less gazes he was receiving. They were ready to attack him and the other squirrel, that much was certain. However it was hard for Axel to determine just when they would be jumped and by the sounds of the laughter, their deaths were not going to be easy ones.

The first attack had caught him off guard. As Axel studied a suspiscious pair of bears talking to one another, two fuzzy brown figures jumped from the second floor and immediately overwhelemed the other squirrel. Axel whipped around towards the sound of rodent pummeling only to catch the sight of another brown figure to his side. He turned on heel and felt a jolt run through his system when the edge of a katana missed his face by mere inches. Rather than becoming more afraid than he already was, Axel felt rage rise in his body as he tore his uzi from his belt and aimed it right at the Tedi's face. His ears awaited the satisfying sound of bullets ripping another plush enemy's face to shreds. However the only things his ears picked up were rapid clicks and the sound of his own voice. "Oh shit," His uzi was empty and he was out of clips.

The Tedi's grin widened as it took another swipe at the squirrel. Axel had already discarded his now useless uzi and for the moment had nothing on his mind except putting a bit of distance between him and the bear. After several swings and misses the Tedi was getting, to say the list, a tad frustrated. The evil smirk Tediz usually wore had disappeared from the face of this one and was replaced by an annoyed snear. Its soft plushy paws gripped the hilt as tightly as they could as it raised the blade over its head and shoulder. A ferocious scream escaped its artificial lungs as it launched itself forward with the intent of slashing the youth diagonally across his chest. _Now's my chance._ Axel's mind whispered. He had noticed that the Tediz couldn't grip the ground as well as the squirrels could what with their plush feet and all. Even as this Tedi ran towards him he could see its feet practically slipping out from underneath it as it continued to launch itself forward. 

Yet he knew that the Tediz were smarter than they looked. _They're robots_ his mind reminded him. _They have no emotions, they could see right through me._ Axel took a few steps back as Tedi continued to charge. _No, there is one._ The Tedi's face was contorted as it drew closer to its target. _Anger. They were programmed to get angry, but this is different._ He allowed his body to tremble under the mass amounts of adreniline rushing through his veins. His fists tightened and he took another step back._ They aren't blinded._

Another fierce screamed was released through the Tedi's stitched mouth as it was now in striking range. _If he misses, he'll be vulnerable._ The Tedi's grip tightened. The squirrel's eyes narrowed. _But can I evade it?_ With the consent of the Tedi's paws, the blade cut through the air. Axel's body shook as he forced his muscles into action. He twisted his body in such a way as if to turn sideways while begging his entire body would clear the path of the blade. As the Tedi brought the sword diagonaly down from his left, Axel moved to the right in hopes of clearing the path of the blade before it had the chance to drink upon his blood. A silver arc rushed past his face and shoulder with a gleaming shine. He reached for his belt with his left hand and grabbed hold of his trusty combat knife.

Having received the knife from the right side of his body, Axel easily snapped his arm outwards and back to the left, cutting the Tedi's head clear off in the process. Nine to go. However, it seemed that six out of those nine had no interest in him at all, but rather in his nameless companion. They had engulfed the squirrel, despite his best efforts, and he was completely overwhelemed. It wasn't a quick gory death that the Tediz were delivering either, but rather a beating. All six kicking and punching, laughing as the squirrel could do nothing to defend himself. Nothing.

"Stop it," Axel heard himself whisper. He and the other three Tediz watched the beating being delivered and paid each other no mind. While this was a pure opportunity for Axel to take the three out and vise versa, he couldn't bring himself to take his gaze away. He couldn't because he saw…

"Stop it,"

A group of eleven year old rodents, ranging from mice to squirrels to chipmunks,

"Stop it,"

kicking, punching, and laughing

"Stop it,"

as one small and thin grey squirrel could do nothing to protect himself.

"Stop it,"

Nothing.

"Stop it,"

A kick to the guts.

"Stop it,"

A punch to the face.

"Stop it,"

The pain was coming,

"Stop it,"

The pain was coming back.

"STOP IT!!!!!"

Axel's cry was loud and fierce. All attention was turned to him as he fumed and gritted his teeth. His breath was ragged and his eyes had changed. The squirrel looked on as Axel's trembling body held a pair of the most feral and frightening eyes he had seen. The Tediz seemed unphased, yet could not bring themselves to move. If the Tediz possesed the ability to fear, there is no doubt they would've been to paralyzed to move. Yet, it was more curiosity that froze them in their place. Just what did that squirrel think he was trying to do anyway?

In the blink of an eye Axel was rushing towards them. On the way he had picked up the dead Tedi's katana but his speed was unbelievable. Before the Tediz could register what was going on, three had already been decapitated. A roar of unheard ferocity rose from Axel's lungs as he took out the remaining Tediz just as they drawed for their weapons. The katana cut through the air with such speed that it sent yellow blood splattering across the walls of the base. 

The other squirrel took a few steps back. His eyes were wide and watering with what he had witnessed. Never before had he seen such anger and fire. Axel's body shook as he gripped the weapon tightly with both hands. His breath was heavy and rapid almost as if his rage refused to let him breath comfortably. Both he and the nameless squirrel ducked when a bullet buried itself into the ground by their feet. Axel growled as his feral eyes shifted towards the Tedi who had fired at them. Pushing himself off the ground, he launched himself towards the remaining Tediz with blinding speed. The force of his boots hitting the ground as he accelerated little by little echoed through the base. With each step the squirrel sent himself flying through the air before gravity called him back to earth, and with each step he flew faster and farther. 

Axel's steadily increasing speed proved too quick to allow the gun weilding Tedi to get him into its cross hairs again before its head was sent flying. Even during the act of decapitation Axel's speed continued to accelerate, little by little, as breath swam in and out of his body. One by one the remaining Tediz fell as yellow blood and plush limbs flew about the room. With no remaining bears to slay, Axel skidded to a stop that would've been comical (given the speed he was going) if it weren't for the events that had taken place and the frightening flare within his eyes. The yellow puddle rippled as he stood within it, breathing wildly. Though the act of slaying the enemy had somewhat taken away his rage, the fire in his brain was burning and refused to let him be. 

The other squirrel watched as Axel's eyes scanned the room. If he were closer he would've sworn that Axel was foaming at the mouth with rage. The anger he felt all those years ago, and now as well with the death of his comrades, had broken the dam and sent sanity and reason into the deeper regions of his brain and would only let them resurface when his anger was satisfied. "Is he, looking for something else to kill?" the squirrel mumbled ever so quietly. Knowing that if that were the case, and that he was the only other thing left alive in the room, he decided that it would be best to leave undetected. However, he was unfortunate enough to not know of Axel's inborn ability to hear things better than most squirrels, and his footsteps were not quiet enough to escape his ears.

****

To Be Continued…

Yes I'm still alive, no I'm not giving up on this fic. I had originally planned on this chapter to be a bit longer, but at eleven pages I think it's long enough and I thought it would be eviller (sp?) to end it here. Don't worry, I'm not cutting anything out and I will continue with what was originally to be the end of this chapter in the next one. I know I'm a lazy bum (forgive me!) but I hope you'll find it in your hearts to review! ^_~


	10. Coldblooded Killer

A/N: This chapter will be a bit shorter than the others. See? That wasn't such a bad trade off. This chapter's a bit longer, last one a bit shorter. Now quit yer whining and READ!

The squirrel stopped in his tracks when he felt a pair of eyes burning into his flesh. His muscles began to tremble as he swallowed nervously and slowly turned his head. The instant his eyes met with the offending ones, his jaw dropped and his feet froze to the ground. Axel's crazed look burned past his eyes and straight to the back of his brain. He struggled to free his feet but his muscles paid him no mind. Axel's gaze had cut off every nerve in his body, leaving him at the enraged squirrel's mercy.

Though Axel no longer gritted his teeth, his mouth forming into a mild frown, his eyes still held the same ferocity as before. With his paw gripping the hilt with a force enough to break it, it was obvious the burning rage had disabled his ability to tell between friend or foe. For the moment, anything that moved, anything that breathed, had to be destroyed. Kill or be killed. That was the only message circulating through Axel's brain at the moment. His instincts were screaming at him to survive, and survive he would, at any and all costs.

"Wait!" the squirrel stammered when he finally found his voice. Axel blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst, but did not move from his spot. "I'm on your side!" Axel's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open ever so slightly. His grip on the katana had loosened a bit, but his gaze still held firm. "My side?" he parroted, his voice shades darker than it normally was. The other squirrel flinched slightly at the accusing tone, but was somewhat relieved, confidant that he could get through to him. "Yes, I'm not your enemy."

"Not my enemy," Axel repeated again, this time his voice slightly softer. His eyes continued to analyze the life form before him, searching for any reason to doubt his words. He was armed, but unlike the Tediz he looked unwilling to fight. _But he's armed! _A part of his mind screamed in warning. His eyes narrowed at that, glaring at the uzis by the squirrel's sides. However his hands were in the air and far from the weapons. And he looked…._scared. Is he afraid of me?_ _He's just begging for his life, but he…_

Axel continued his stare for several minutes, his expression changing from slight recognition to untrusting anger. The other squirrel stood frozen, his heart fluttering in his chest as he hoped that his words were enough to get Axel to recognize him. And for a moment, he did. For a moment, his eyes widen and softened. For a moment, the katana almost slipped from his grasp. For a moment, it seemed as though he would break free from his trance. But only for a moment. 

"Not my enemy," Axel said again, this time it seemed as more of a statement than a question. At this, the squirrel let out a long sigh, relaxing his body and dropping his arms to his sides. To his sides, right were his uzis were.

-----

Axel blinked a few times as consciousness finally returned to him. He found himself staring at the floor sitting on his feet, his palms pressed against the ground to support him. He drew in several deep breaths as he felt his heart racing in his rib cage. It felt as if he had been running for miles. He groaned when the pain in his head finally set in. His brain felt fried as if he had been running a fever. He lifted his left paw to his forehead in an attempt to massage the pain from his head. However when his paw made contact, he felt something warm and sticky run down his face. He quickly withdrew his hand to find it completely covered in blood. That's when he noticed the damp feeling of his uniform upon his chest and stomach. Glancing down at his midsection, he gasped when he found his uniform was soaked with a sickly orange color, a mixture of yellow and red blood.

_Have I been shot?!_ He gulped as he frantically patted his chest, looking for any wound he had been given. When no pain erupted from his body, he slowly withdrew his hand. Tediz had yellow blood, but if the red blood wasn't his, whose was it? "What the hell happened?" He recalled being surrounded by Tediz and watching as a group of them pummeled that other squirrel, then what?He glanced to his left and noticed several dismembered Tediz lying on the floor, their stuffing soaking up their yellow fluids. "Did I do that?" he asked, shock echoing in his voice. He noted that their injuries had been caused by a sword. He did recall cutting up one Tedi, but after that…

He glanced down when he realized there was something under his right paw. His eyes widened and a small gasp escaped him when he saw the hilt of a katana underneath his bloody hand. _So I did do that._ He swallowed when he noticed a majority of the blood covering his hand and blade was….red. _But then,_

Axel bit his bottom lip as he allowed his eyes to slowly travel from his katana to a few feet in front of him. He felt all the blood drain from his face when his horrified eyes locked onto the object in front of him. The squirrel lay mangled, his intestines hanging out of his body, surrounded by a puddle of blood. His eyes were wide but completely void of life. Axel shook when the smell of blood invaded his nose. The red blood on his uniform and hand, on his blade. _I'm wearing his blood!_ His mind screamed as his lips trembled. "I….I.."

**__**

Killed him. You've killed one of your own.

"No, I couldn't…I…couldn't..I"

**__**

You killed him. Face the facts, kiddo. 

"But how…I…would.."

**__**

You're just like them. The Tediz.

"Wha…what? I…."

**__**

You were right when you said they possessed anger and frustration. Those are the only emotions they were programmed to feel. You're just like them.

"No..I…don't feel..and.."

**__**

You're just like them because they're missing a very important emotion. Sorrow. Without sorrow they enjoy killing, just like you.

"Shut the fuck up Harry!"

**__**

Yes, another innocent soul is dead, killed by your stained hands. Just like when you were eleven and you killed that….

"Shut the fuck up you son of a bitch!! I didn't do it!"

**__**

Oh, you most certainly did. We both remember the incident clearly. How clever of you to plan things out like you did. Killer at age eleven, I'm impressed.

Axel squeezed his eyes shut and began hitting the sides of his head with his fists in an attempt to harm the voice within. "Shut up, fucker! I didn't kill him! I didn't!"

**__**

You did, just as you killed that squirrel before you. You're a cold-blooded murderer, just like the Tediz.

"I'm not!" Axel gripped his head tightly as he began shaking violently. Once again he began pummeling his temples while screaming hysterically. His body shuddered as Harry laughed at his futile attempts to silence him. "I'm not a killer, I'm not a killer," Axel's voice began to grow quiet as he continued on like a broken record. He closed his eyes and whispered, his throat becoming sore from all the screaming.

"I'm not a killer, I'm not a killer,"

__

Axel, hey Axel! Hey! Look at me dammit! 

"AXEL!"

His eyes snapped open at the sound of his name. The hands on his shoulders had stopped shaking him for the moment, but didn't budge from their place. He had stopped whispering to himself and grimaced at the dizziness that had developed in his head. "Hey, look at me. Are you okay?" Axel lifted his head at the sound of the familiar voice and soon found his eyes locked with Riley's. He slowly lowered his hands from his head and allowed them to rest at his sides. Riley was obviously concerned about his friend's well being. Who wouldn't be after finding him covered in blood while holding his head and mumbling to himself. 

Axel continued to stare into Riley's eyes for several minutes as if trying to register whether he was really there or not. However, after a few minutes of silence, Riley got a bit frustrated. "Come on, pull yourself together." He said while shaking him ever so slightly. "What happened here?" Axel's eyes went wide with that question. 

"I…."

"What? What happened?"

"I…it….unhh…"

Riley's heart raced when Axel fell forward. Fortunately, he was close enough to catch him but was not at all relieved with the fact that he had slipped almost unconscious into his arms. "Axel, hey." Riley whispered while shaking him gently. Axel responded with an agonized groan. Although he was still awake, his body was completely limp and the only thing keeping him from crashing to the floor was his friend. "Don't pass out on me here." Riley said as he slipped Axel's arm over his shoulder. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

-----

That night, Axel stared up at the ceiling from his place on the cot with his hands behind his head. Although he wasn't injured, he was still recovering from the nausea and dizziness that nearly caused him to faint. Axel wished he had fainted though, that he had been able to escape to that void of darkness and unawareness. That would've been at least a few hours free of guilt. Sighing heavily, he rolled over on his side and tried to sleep. Horrific dreams were certain to invade his slumber but the exhaustion gnawed at his brain without mercy. He closed his eyes and prepared to succumb to sleep.

**__**

You shouldn't feel guilty, you know.

His eyes snapped open. "Harry, why are you…?"

**__**

I'm not Harry. It's me, Axel.

A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Larry, it's been a while."

**__**

I know. It has, hasn't it? Anyway, I can understand your feelings right now, but you must forget about them.

"How can I do that? I killed him and I didn't even know his name."

**__**

It's true. That soldier will never return home and it's all your fault. But you've got to go beyond that.

"Beyond?"

**__**

That soldier was doomed from the time you both found yourselves surrounded. However, it could have been both of you. Because you allowed your anger to take over, you're still alive. And, because you allowed your anger to take over, that soldier died. 

"And how is this supposed to make me feel better? For the love of God, Larry, I killed the guy!"

**__**

But could you have defeated the Tediz in your present state? Don't you see? Your anger is both your greatest strength and deadliest weakness. With your anger in full swing, you are at your strongest, almost unstoppable. However, this puts your allies and those you are trying to protect in jeopardy. You must learn to tell between friend or foe while your anger is in control.

Axel rolled onto his stomach and buried his face into his pillow. "How am I supposed to do that? I can't even remember what happened."

**__**

Then you must use your anger. If you don't, it will use you. When you do this, you will become strong.

"That doesn't change the fact that I killed that guy."

**__**

He forgives you.

"What?!"

Axel pushed his face out of the pillow and began looking around the empty bunk. "Larry? Hey, are you there?" Growling in frustration, Axel punched the pillow and sat up on his bed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?" He continued scanning the room as if to spot the more comforting of the voices hiding in the corner. He sighed and allowed his body to sink back into the bed. "How can he forgive me? I fucking killed him."

Even as he heard the door open, he refused to lift his head to greet his guest, content to hide himself from with world within his pillow. He tensed in frustration as he felt the visitor move from the door towards his bed. All he wanted to do was be left alone at the moment, although the concern that was directed his way was not totally unappreciated. "You feelin' okay now?" Riley said, knowing very well his friend wasn't in the best of moods, but also knowing he wouldn't lash out at him as well. 

"Go to hell," 

Well, not physically anyway.

"I'll take that as a yes," Riley mumbled sarcastically. He was beginning to get a bit frustrated with Axel's curt attitude, but Riley possessed a great amount of patience when it came to his friend's anger and attitude. He wasn't afraid of Axel loosing it and beating him to a bloody pulp, the most pain he'd ever inflicted to him was a punch on the arm, but he was always sympathetic to the guy. _Maybe I'm just too easy on the guy._

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you." Came Axel's pillow muffled apology. "I'm still not feeling too well, that's all." Riley rubbed the back of his head and sighed. He had expected such a reply and decided it best not to try his friend to become more social than he already was, but it couldn't hurt to try. "Sure you don't want to join the guys? It'll do you good to get out." A quiet moan was his only reply, which was also expected. He turned slowly and walked towards the door. "Hope you feel better then. See you later."

The opening and closing of the door was the last thing Axel heard that night. After several seconds of silence he found himself willingly pulled into sleep. His sleep promised to be a troubled one. Voices would cry out once again. Blood soaked fingers would point at him accusingly and "murderer" would echo in the back of his mind. But that was okay. Because he wasn't, he couldn't allow himself to be. _I'm not a killer._

**__**

It must be so nice to deceive yourself so well. Sleep well, Axel. 

****


	11. Shock! Riley's life string snapped!

A/N: All right people! Hope you enjoyed the last few chapters, more shall come. I'll try to update as often as possible so as not to keep you guys waiting for…too long. Heh, this is gonna be one long ass story. Maybe I should make it into a motion picture or something? Nah, I don't think anyone could hold their piss for that long. ^_^

"Okay, listen up!" The recruits stood at ease before Rico offering nothing but their undivided attention. "Intelligence has reported that in order to achieve supreme victory against the evil Tediz bastards, we have got to demoralize them. They suggest that we steal their colors from here," Rico paused and lifted his finger towards the top of the Tediz tower, motioning for the soldiers to follow with their eyes. "and take it back, running like a bat outta hell, to here." This time, his paw pointed towards a large metallic square at the bottom of their base. "Whoever goes for the flag, better make sure you have some cover. Okay snipers, that goes for you guys too. Right, fall out and good luck!"

-----

Axel fiddled with the sniper rifle in his paws. Nerves were jarred when the tasks were assigned amongst the group. Hunter was at the turret gun, his superior marksmanship placing him there. Axel's accuracy also placed him and once again he was the sniper for the team. San would guard the base entrance along with a few random soldiers, identifying themselves as Seth and Grider. Rin was there too, volunteering for offense along with Riley. No one was surprised when Jones and his group split before the carnage unfolded.

Axel stood outside the entrance to the sniper tower, shifting his foot nervously in the wooden floor. _Riley's going for offense._ He did not like that one bit. His best friend, his pseudo brother, was willingly taking on the most dangerous part of the mission. Of course, Riley had played several sports through school and had great stamina as well as agility. However…

The voices of the others were nothing more than mumbles to his usually alert ears. Through the whole discussion he remained staring at his boots with a sense of dread spreading through his brain. Through his thoughts he could hear them all departing for their stations. He shook his head trying to clear the fog. _Relax, he'll be fine. We've gotten this far, ne?_

"Riley." The named squirrel paused in his tracks, slowly turning towards the source of the voice. Axel forced the pained look on his face to a menacing one before his friend could look upon it. "If you die out there," he said, locking his eyes with Riley's. "I swear I'll kick your ass."

Riley shouldn't have been surprised by his friend's words. He did have to admit, however, that it was unusual he would let something like this go. He was certain Axel would pick a fight over him with his choice of placement. After all, playing sports was good, but a pretty lame excuse to go and try to steal a flag from a group of trigger happy psycho teddy bears. In response to all this, he mustered a smile. A weak half-assed one, but genuine. He could hardly say he was in a smiling mood.

Riley was rewarded by a twitchy smile from Axel. Now he was _definitely_ not in a smiling mood. _I wonder if he's thinking about her._ "I'll be sure to smack you upside the head tonight for being so ridiculous, so don't _you_ go getting yourself killed either. Okay?" Axel's smile grew somewhat with a chuckle which was enough to satisfy him. With a curt nod, he turned to leave, finding he had to force himself not to look back. _He needs to stop being so damn angsty. _

"See ya." Riley lifted his hand in the air at Axel's feeble reply. His retreating form was quick to disappear from view, leaving Axel to take his position. "Today would be good, Slugger!" He shot an annoyed glance at Hunter, who had already taken his seat at the turret, before climbing up the dark walkway to the sniper tower. 

-----

Being the sniper sucked. His muscles ached, his neck ached, even his tail ached. Holding a strong and steady position he had managed to take out five Tediz, but his entire body was starting to cramp like he never though possible. With one eye through the scope and the other scanning the area, Axel could've sworn that even his brain was starting to cramp.

A greyish green figure on the bridge caught his attention. It was crouched behind one of the stone walls while a shower of bullets from the enemy turret was blasting the bridge for what it was worth. He couldn't tell just who the figure was, but it was obvious this guy was in need of assistance. "Hey Axel," a voice crackled over the radio. Rin's voice to be precise. "Could ya give me a bit of clearance here? I'm on the bridge."

"I'm on it." Axel had already had the turret gunner in his sights before the message was relayed. _It's not like I would be doing anything else up here._ There was a fountain of stuffing that splattered over the turret seat just after the trigger was pulled. "Thanks." Rin's voice cracked again and fizzled out. Once again Axel slipped back into the hawk-eye pattern of sniping. Scan, scan, and scan some more. See a Tediz, shoot a Tediz, scan scan again. 

-----

Riley pressed his body against the hill to grasp as much cover as possible. Directly over head Rin was trotting across the bridge after the turret gunner had been taken out. So far so good. He watched Rin's shadowed figure slowly peep out from the passage that led to ground level from said bridge above. He stood in anticipation, awaiting a clear sign to continue. Instead he received a waving paw instructing him to get down low and remain still. After crouching down in the shadowed cover of the hill, he felt more than heard several plush feet pulsing against the ground in a marching state. Soon after the sound of Hunter's turret rained down, confirming that there was indeed a large assault group of Tediz heading towards home base. Along with sound of gunshots was the relieving splatter of stuffing and Tediz insides plopping across the ground. That alone indicated that not only were their squirrel friends aware of the attack but were prepared as well.

The flailing paw of Rin caught his attention again. He threw his arm in a repeated hook, instructing him to make a dash for his location. Riley took off, using the stamina he had built over his childhood to reach Rin's location in at exceptional speed. He slammed into the wall, using his palm to keep from smashing into it head first and joined Rin in the shadows. "It seems they've sent over most of their team to our base. We should be able to sneak in while they're distracted." Riley gave a curt nod in reply and settled into the shadows as Rin quickly checked the sniper tower. With a nod to confirm the coast at least appeared to be clear, the two braved the daylight keeping close to the ground and quiet, ready to sprint at the sound of a bullet.

The pair padded swiftly down the winding path from the door producing only small sounds as their boots shushed through the grass. Upon reaching the ground their sneaks turned to mild sprints as they raced for the cover of the base wall, which would shield them from the view of snipers. Pressing their backs against the cold concrete wall, they strained their ears trying to determine just how many Tediz would be ready to greet them inside. However, the sounds of battle from the Squirrel base, far as it was, did little to aid them. "I'll take one entrance you take the other. See you at the top." Rin whispered rather abruptly. 

The sudden command caught Riley off a bit. While there was little they could do to form a plan given the situation, going in without any real idea of what they would encounter was a bit rash. However, before Riley could voice his opinion on this, Rin was already making his way towards the opposite entrance. He sighed a bit before slowly venturing into the fortress. He walked lightly along, keeping as close to the wall as possible before daring to sneak a peak inside. 

Red lights illuminated the hallway. The entrance curved a bit making it impossible to see what enemies would be waiting in the main area. Aside from the difference in color choice and symbols, the base seemed to be identical to that of the Squirrels. Even the carpet of mud was present. _Just great._

Riley slipped into the entrance, keeping himself pressed against the wall as he placed his feet onto the wooden planks that sat at the mouth of the hall. Inwardly he cringed as they creaked beneath his feet. While the sounds was only loud enough for him to hear, he couldn't shake the thought of the Tediz picking up his presence and planning a deadly surprised attack. He forced himself to press on, braving the noises beneath him as he set foot into the slimy mud. _Great. Just what I need, to fall flat on my ass should I need to turn and run like hell._

A sudden shot brought him out of his train of thoughts and caused him to jump slightly. "Shit!" Without a second thought or word he was off. Along with the first bullet several joined in and flew through the air. Riley's feet were tempted to slip up on the muddy floor but he wouldn't allow it. Upon reaching the end of the hall he spotted Rin in a showdown with the apparent Tediz guard. "Keep movin'! I'll take care of this one!" Rin shouted before Riley had a chance to reach for his own firearms. Though Rin never took his eyes off his adversary, Riley could sense the look in his eyes and Rin was a very pissed off squirrel at the moment who would not appreciate his orders being disobeyed. Well, leader or not, Rin was right. Leaving his fellow soldier to fend for himself, Riley sprinted up the spiral ramp.

Upon reaching the top he sprinted towards the enemy turret gunroom. If this base was nearly identical to their own, then he knew exactly where the flag would be and how to get there. The Tediz were not about to make it easy for him though. As he reached the entrance to the turret gun a brown figure stepped before him. Armed with a rifle and wearing a stitched smirk, a Tediz took aim and was more than ready to puncture Riley's flesh with hot metal. At the sudden enemy appearance, Riley jumped a bit and tried to stop. However he was going too fast and was too close, causing him to collide right with the stuffed bear. The impact threw off the Tedi's aim and left a rather nasty bullet hole in the wall. 

For the first time Riley was thankful that their enemies were stuffed mechanical bioandroids. The force from the impact sent both him and the Tedi crashing to the floor, but because of the stuffed insides of the bear, Riley was given a nice soft landing. That was well and good, but he didn't let it slip that he was facing off with an enemy. During the fall he twisted the bear's arm to keep the gun pointing away from him. However the Tediz were much stronger than they looked and a small struggled erupted between the two. Being on top allowed Riley the advantage and he was able to retrieve his combat knife from his belt. In a quick slash the Tedi's neck was spurting yellow fluids and Riley made a dash for the flag tower.

-----

Though the boredom that came with sniping had diminished, what with the enemy attack and all, Axel was still at a degree of unease. The Tediz had thinned out when it became obvious to them that without shelter they would suffer a few losses to say the least, forcing Axel to return to his vigil strain. This time he needn't need to wish for action to make the mission go by faster. The constant hunting for the stuffed enemies had provided that. However the urgency for such a task was causing his muscles to strain even worse. This stand off seemed to have no end.

-----

After reaching the flag with no more faults, Riley sprinted towards the enemy colors without allowing himself the luxury of rest. With his lungs gasping for oxygen he reached out for the pole and paused for only a second before hearing footsteps from behind. The adrenaline of completing the task of reaching the enemy's flag, as well as his exhaustion, made him very reluctant to give up such a victory. He snarled as he turned to greet his follower, eyes narrowed and hand groping for his rifle. Instantly his expression changed to one of relief when the footsteps were identified.

"Glad to see you lasted this long." Rin shouted with a smirk, clutching his bleeding arm. Riley breathed heavily while leaning some of his weight on the flagpole. "You're hurt." he stated rather flatly. Rin shrugged in response then removed his blood soaked paw to reveal his wound. "Only a flesh wound. Let's get outta here. I'll lead."

-----

"Comin' through!" The loud voice that crackled from his radio caused Axel to jump slightly. It took him a while to identify the voice as Riley's, leaving only one conclusion. Relief washed over his face as a long sigh eased from his mouth. Not only was his best friend still alive but he was successful. It would only be a matter of time before they could return to their bunks, mission complete, alive. 

The sight of several brown figures scampering towards their own base brought him back to reality. For a second he had forgotten that his friend wasn't out of the woods yet. It was one thing to obtain the flag but another to return safely and alive with it. His heart began to hammer in his chest as he struggled to calm himself. The Tediz needed to be taken out in order to provide a clear passage for Riley and Rin and he wouldn't be able to provide them with one if he couldn't keep his aim still.

-----

Riley pushed through the battlefield holding the enemy flag proudly over his shoulder as Rin ran ahead, shooting down any and all enemies that dared to show themselves. San and a few others joined in the effort to break down the wall of Tediz standing between the duo and the base. It seemed to be worth the efforts as Tediz either dropped dead to the ground or scattered for shelter. That was before Riley felt the whiz of a bullet inches from his neck. After a bullet hole appeared in an eruption of dirt beside his foot in the ground, Riley heard himself cry out the only logical explanation for such an assault. "SNIPER!"

-----

Hearing the faint cry of his friend, Axel's aim went instantly to the enemy sniper tower. Anxiety and anger boiled in his blood at the thought of the enemy targeting his friend and him alone. "Axel, sniper! Take 'em out!" Riley's panicked voice crackled through the radio. That, of course, did little to still his shaking arms. The terror that was thick in the friend's voice alarmed him even more so than the current situation. His entire body trembled as he took a poor shot at the sniper. The only reward for his efforts was a bullet dent in the enemy's tower. 

"Shit..." Axel cursed to himself when it was all too obvious his aim had been affected by the rush of adrenaline. Through the scope he watched as the enemy took another shot at his friend, cringing slightly in reaction. Not taking a second to wonder if it was a miss he fired again, only to graze the concrete just below the Tedi. "Hurry!"

At the second cry from the radio Axel willed his body to cease its shaking. He narrowed his eyes and forced his lungs to release a long breath through his teeth, creating a growl from his throat. He tensed his muscles as he slowly tried to get his crosshair on his target. "Axel, kill 'em!" The Tedi took its aim. Axel's finger slowly pressed the trigger. His paws shook and sweat soaked his forehead. "AXEL!"

A shot echoed through the field among the sounds of battle. Axel smirked in satisfaction at the sight of gushing yellow blood spurting from where the sniper's head used to be. With his paws still shaking from the rush, he reached for his radio and held it to his mouth. "Okay, Riley, I got 'em. You're good to go." 

He breathed heavily as he awaited a reply. However, as silence had yet to be broken by his friend's voice, his smirk slowly melted away. "Hey, Riley? You okay man?" He spoke again, needing to confirm that his friend was still breathing. Once again silence was all that greeted him. His heart instantly began to race again. "Riley, say something dammit! RILEY!" Shouting into the radio stung his throat slightly, but the pain had gone unnoticed. His body began to tremble again as the radio slipped from his paw. Instantly he bounded towards the turret gunroom in hopes of seeing what had become of his friend. 

Axel's sprint ended abruptly at the sight of Hunter sitting in the turret chair, a shocked expression upon his face. Axel's heart instantly leapt into this throat as his hopes of seeing his friend stunned, but alive, sank. _No, Riley's stronger than that._ He told himself repetitively as he willed his feet to move. With somewhat reluctant movements he stepped closer to the edge of the turret window. His heart froze and his lungs took in a large amount of air when his horrified eyes landed upon his best friend. 

"Ri...ley.." 

-----

Yes, I had to be evil about it. For that is how I am. Stupid college and work is taking up so much of my time I actually had to finish this chapter in school. Yeah, I know, I should've been doing my labs but I'm almost done with them anyway. So please don't forget to read and review and it would be very cool of you to check out my other stories if you're interested in Rurouni Kenshin or Jet Grind Radio at all. 


	12. Awaken the Sleeping Giant

Okay, you've waited and waited and . . . . waited some more. And you've probably gotten REALLY pissed off with me in the process. But here it is! The next chapter of doom!

Up until now the story had been told in a third person perspective. It will still be third person, except now it will be written in a reflective manner. Axel will be taking over the narrative, re-telling the tale and it will jump into descriptive events (only those of significance of course) as well as skim through the less important details. I will leave nothing of importance out to ensure that you will get the most out of the story.

I thank those of you who've been joining me on this journey (especially macman) and I thank you all for your reviews. Now without further delay ...

Souls and Soldier Squirrels Chapter 12

Axel closed his eyes against the mist that threatened to spill. That had always been a hard memory for him to look back upon. His paw found the nearby cup of tea and brought it to his lips without losing a drop. He normally didn't care for the beverage, but after what had to have been two straight hours of talking his throat craved the soothing liquid.

Ami and Jack shared a glance as they sat opposite of their friend. It was killing him to speak of the war, that much was certain, but the information was a necessity in their current battle. That and it proved the strength of the bond between them. Friendship is little more than a thin string tying people together and it takes much trust to reveal such tribulations without fearing the cut of ties between them.

Axel put the teacup down and sighed. His left paw ran gently over the sheathed sword at his side as he slowly cracked his eyes open. He brought his glance back up to the cat and wolf sitting in anticipation. He stretched for a moment, running fingers through his bangs and catching the feel of the red bandana still wrapped around his head. "Well?" Ami urged gently, knowing that pushing the squirrel too far during this fragile state could bring about ugly results. The yellow cat leaned forward ever so slightly, her shoulder length red hair brushing her face. "What happened?"

Axel spared her a glance, not bothering to hide the saddened feeling he was certain his eyes were displaying, and suppressed a groan of agony. How could he explain what happened next? Such an event lay mysterious with him. "I . . I'm not really sure." He murmured in response. "I must've lost it again. I was too enraged to think straight. I . . well . . . who wouldn't be?"

Axel froze, face paled and eyes washed in pure horror and disbelief. His childhood friend lay on the ground before the Squirrels fort, enriching the soil with this blood. He had caught a sniper bullet in the back of the head, splitting his skull and spattering all its contents over the ground. The sight penetrated his eyes, spreading a boiling shudder through his body. His lungs pumped harder, causing his breath to become short and ragged. Pure anguish circulated through his system.

Hunter watched from the turret seat, as Axel seemed to be suffering seizers. Alarm gripped him in a moment and he moved beside the shaken squirrel without hesitation. He placed a paw on his shoulder with nothing but good intentions, hoping to calm the shaken soldier.

Fear replaced concern when his wrist was suddenly drowned in pain. Hunter's breath caught in his throat as he stared into a pair of feral eyes. Axel's expression had changed from one of complete horror and misery to intense anger. Hunter's insides twitched nervously as his companion's eyes penetrated him. Before he could blink he was thrown across the room, back against the floor, as Axel rushed down the hall blindly. He sat up instantly with enough time to utter a few choice words before realizing the severity of the situation.

"Shit! Someone stop Axel!"

Having heard Hunter's call, San had tried his luck at stopping the enraged rodent. However luck was not with him at the moment. As he pulled his face from the muddy floor, he caressed his bleeding nose and tried to shake the spinning headache off. He should've known better. The fire within Axel's eyes was indescribable. Pure hatred, anger, and sorrow mixed into one with a very clear message ringing through them. _Nothing will stop me._

A fierce and powerful hook from the furious squirrel had floored San in an instant. He hadn�t even seen it coming, but he knew the consequence of trying to stop Axel would be rather painful. Despite that, there was no way he would've been able to live with himself had he not tried. He wasn't sure he could anyway as he had tried and failed. He had not seen the former mess that was Riley, but having heard a gunshot and the conversation over the radio it did not take a genius to realize what had happened. Axel was going to the Tediz base in a blind rage. He was going to be killed, and San had failed at stopping him.

The wrath that Hunter and San had received was only a mere fraction of what the Tediz were receiving. The mechanical brains of the bears had analyzed him as little more than a nuisance. The logic of his movements suggested a raging blind fool, unknowingly running into death's awaiting jaws. However their lack of instincts did not pick up on his fluid reactions.

Though consciously gone, Axel had risen (or sunk) to a primal level. Each small movement was picked up instantly. He saw actions before they were preformed and reacted with brutal counter attacks that would normally leave the potential targets scared shitless. However the few Tediz that did witness Axel's wrath did not seem too affected as their companion's blood and innards were splattered about and covered the offensive squirrel.

Another bullet whizzed passed his head as Axel twisted his body ever so slightly to avoid the peril. His movements were almost beautiful. His agility allowing him to flow across the battlefield and attack was like a dance. He arched his back, avoiding a thrusting knife, and spun around to catch his paw on the chest of his current opponent. He sunk his claws in and tore down the Tedi's torso, ripping the stuffed horror open. He kicked what was left of the body off to the side, and immediately rushed for the next advancing enemy. After disposing of that one in a similar fashion he rushed down the grass covered concrete path towards the base. For a moment his primal brain had thought it heard someone call out for him, though he was to far from rational thought for the shouts of anyone, friend or foe, to reach him.

Though the Tediz may not have been disturbed by the crazed rodent's action, the other squirrels were quite a different story. After Riley had been shot down, a group of Tediz swooped out of nowhere and where now bringing their flag back to base. Not about to let Riley's efforts go in vain, Rin fought them off as much as he could though the simple fact of the matter was that he was overwhelmed. He had to switch his objective from getting back the flag to staying alive as he wouldn't do anyone much help dead. However by the time he had thrown off a majority of his assaulters the flag was already back safely in the Tediz base.

Cursing, Rin rushed back to the enemy base not really sure what he was thinking at the time. That was when the disemboweled Tedi fell before him. "Wha?" Glancing upward, Rin caught sight of a grey figure tearing into another bear with a ferocity that sent chills down his spine. _Wait a minute, is that�?_ The figure tossed the other mangled corpse to the side and rushed down the path leading to the base. Rin could've sworn the crazed soldier was foaming at the mouth.

"Axel!" Rin gasped upon recognizing the figure. It had not taken him long to create the connection with Riley's death to Axel's sudden show of rage. Cursing yet again, he rushed to keep up with the ungodly speed of the enraged squirrel. Certainly Axel was ripping the Tediz to shreds with ease, but it was only a matter of seconds before he did something stupid. He was, after all, nowhere near rational thought and it only took one slip up. Unfortunately, Axel was much faster than Rin at that moment, almost doubling the other squirrel's speed. Deciding it best not to try and waste his energy keeping up with him, Rin pressed his back against the wall of the Tediz base entrance. He resolved to stay behind and act as backup for when Axel retrieved the flag from enemy custody. All he could do was hope that Axel managed to get out of there alive.

Axel sped through the enemy base entrance, his feet not even hinting and faltering upon the slick mud coated floor. For only an instant his feral eyes were blinded by a red laser before he side stepped the bullet that roared loudly through the air. Guarding the entrance stood a Tedi armed with a hand cannon. It was common knowledge amongst the soldiers about just how deadly those weapons were. One shot anywhere on the body, even the tail, meant instant death. Whether Axel was currently aware of that information was uncertain, but he treated that enemy with the same cautiousness that he had the others: very little that is. Despite this his agility and grace hid his reckless approach and forced the Tedi to try and keep up with his speed. Bang after bang echoed painfully through the fortress but all shots were misses. Cursing in its language, the Tedi soon ran out of bullets and reached for another round in its pack.

Axel had chosen just that moment to rush in and sink his buck teeth into the opposing Tedi's 'flesh' causing the hellish creature to scream out in pain. Without a split second of hesitation he dug his fingers into the bear's face, ripping its stitches open and spraying a yellow goop over the base floor. Tossing the body aside the squirrel then proceeded up the walkway either oblivious or uncaring to the 'blood' that was drenching his furry paws.

Hearing the loud ruckus of the turret gun, Axel angrily ripped a grenade from his belt as he rushed up towards the turret room. He tossed the grenades towards the turret seat in what would have looked like a cleverly executed plan if not for his angered tossing manner like that of a childhood tantrum. Being too preoccupied with taking out the squirrels that scattered on the battle field, the Tedi was never aware of the impending doom ticking below his seat. As its innards splattered the walls and floor Axel rushed up the ramp.

Emerging from the darkness, a katana wielding Tedi thrust his weapon forward in attempt to impale the squirrel. Axel slipped past the attack with ease and rewarded the bear for its efforts with a combat knife blade to the face. With that limp body crumpling to the ground there was nothing to keep Axel from his prize. Racing up to the flag tower he crossed the little walk way without a twinge of fear at the height. He scooped the flag up almost like a kitten pouncing at a toy and leapt from the tower, his rage keeping him from any rational thought. "Good God! What the fuck is he doing!" Rin shouted in terror at the sight of Axel's body plummeting to earth with Tediz flag in paw.

"He's fucking gone suicidal! Damn it Axel, you son of a bitch!"

Gasping, Axel's eyes flew open as he frantically looked around him. His back and head were in agony and it was rather difficult to breath. He found himself looking directly up at what appeared to be the Squirrels base except for the tints of red scattered here and there. "What the hell!" He sat up through the pain and noticed the Tediz flag pole resting in his paw.

"Axel!" Before he could have a chance to gape at the possession in his hands he looked up at the call of his name. Rin was rushing towards him flailing his arms like crazy and shouting incoherently. "What the hell are you doing? Are you fucking crazy?" was about all he could make out before piecing together just what was going on. Somehow or another he was in front of the Tediz base with their flag in his hand. That, of course, meant that he was their main target at the time being.

"Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

Axel screamed as he rushed to his feet and sprinted down the path way. Perhaps it was the shock of suddenly being number one on the bear�s hit list that propelled him in such a frantic manner. �Oh God! What the fuck am I doing!� He shouted at Rin as he ran past him. "Just keep runnin'! I'll hold 'em off!" Rin turned towards the oncoming wave of bear soldiers and braced himself for battle. Quickly withdrawing his uzis he sprayed hot lead down on the Tediz in a berserk manner, determined to not let the same think that'd happened to Riley happen again.

Panicked and confused Axel continued his rush towards his base. His muscles were burning as if he'd been running for miles prior to this. Just what the hell had he been doing anyway? The last thing he remembered was Riley . . .

_Riley._

The breeze of a bullet whizzing past his cheek put an end to the rage and pain that began building up in his brain. Fear suddenly replaced his emotions regarding his recently departed friend. "I'm being shot at! Somebody get this guy!" he cried out hoping to be heard. "I'm doing all I can kid! Just keep goin'!" Rin's voice crackled over the radio. "We're on it Axel!" San's voice came in relieving a fraction of fear if only for a moment. Another bullet screeched by his shoulder and his whimpered against his will. He knew it couldn't be from the group Rin was fighting. If a Tedi was directly above him he'd hear the shots and menacing laughter so that was out. That's when it hit him.

"Sniper!"

Pain erupted over Axel's body as a bullet finally bit into his flesh. His right arm pitched forward from the force and blood sprayed freely from it. "Dammit!" he cursed, more frustrated than scared. The Squirrels base was in sight. He was so close. He couldn't let Riley's previous efforts go to waste. He had to . . .

Just then Riley's headless body came into view. Axel's stomach rebelled suddenly and violently at the sight. He tried to keep his eyes on his goal but they steered towards the gruesome sight as if determined to put his mind into more anguish. His body seemed unscathed, but his head was completely demolished. Blasted open like a pinata his skull looked as if it had been shattered. Pieces of brain lay scattered amongst the grass resembling that of a spilled plate of scrambled eggs. Surrounding the horrid sight was a dark puddle of blood staining everything it touched.

"AAHH!"

Axel's cry came partly out of anguish and partly out of pain and surprise. Another bullet had penetrated his flesh, biting into his leg mercilessly and causing him to stumble forward. He quickly regained his composure and mixed emotions propelled him through the battle field. Despite this his previous strength had depleted considerably. Most of his energy had been used up during his insane storm of the enemy fortress and his pounding heart was squirting blood out of his wounds at a rather inconvenient pace. Still he forced himself onward, hoping his body could hold out long enough.

"Ghaaa!" The next cry came from a sadistic Tedi and cut through the air with an abruptness that made Axel jump. Just as startling as the sudden and loud cry was the pain that tore into his side less than a second afterward, causing the squirrel to gasp in shock. The bear gripped onto his collar as it twisted the knife and Axel struggled to release himself from the monster's grip.

Fortunately back up was on the way and ready. Another bullet whipped passed Axel's face but this time left a spray of mechanical brains and stuffing shooting into the air. The squirrel stepped back, desperately trying to get the gunk out of his face in order to see when he heard the calls of his teammates. "You're clear buddy! Run for it!" came an unfamiliar voice.

Not bothering to check if the fellow soldier was one he had known, he bolted towards the base. Muscles burning from the wounds and over-exhaustion, he was all too releaved to see several grey spots appear in his blurred field of vision. "Hey!" he cried and became mildly alarmed at how difficult it had become to call out. "Someone take this!" Thrusting out the flag before him blindly he staggered on waiting for someone to relieve him of it. "I can't go on!"

His energy was depleting with every drop of blood that squirted from his body and he found himself stumbling about. Overwhelming weakness filled him and he suddenly felt himself detatched from his own body. Just as the battlefield began to spin mercilessly a pair of paws reached out and took the flag from him as another soldier draped his arm over Axel's shoulder. Everything began to slip-away in that moment and, had he known better, Axel would've sworn he was dreaming. He barely registered how much of a fight it was just to keep his eyes open and had unconsciously allowed himself to succumb to the impending darkness. As he welcomed the sweet embrace of unconsciousness one last sound penetrated his mind and echoed about like a damaged record.

"You've done well, boy. You've done well."

To be continued . . .

Yes I know. It's been forever! But as you can see I'm not giving up on this story. I told you I wouldn't dammit and I mean it! I've been a very busy person you know.

So I bet you're all wondering what the heck is up with this Ami and Jack shit? You'll see. Axel's life as a soldier obviously doesn't end with the war. So if I haven't lost all of my adoring fans please review! Kudasai!


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